A Touch From the Heart

Thankful

Happy Halloween everyone!!  I'll be back later with a spooktacular Halloween project, but for the Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch I wanted to make a thank you card.

As soon as I saw this layout, I knew I wanted to use my Wandering Words stamp set.  Any of the three images would work perfectly with this sketch. 

Here's the one I chose......

  
The base card is More Mustard (5 1/2" x 8 1/2"....folded in half).  I sponged the edges with Close to Cocoa ink.

The next layer is patterned paper from the Autumn Meadows Designer Series Paper Pack.  Let me tell you.....it is GORGEOUS!!!!

The focal image is inked with Chocolate Chip ink.  I took a Q-Tip and removed the ink from the leaves.  I colored the leaves with my Stampin' Write Markers (More Mustard, Really Rust, Ruby Red and Old Olive), huffed on the stamp and stamped it on Very Vanilla cardstock.  The edges are sponged with Close to Cocoa ink.

Following the sketch, I took a strip of Pumpkin Pie cardstock and punched the top edge with the Scallop Edge punch.  I lightly sponged the edges of this with Close to Cocoa ink.  The strip sits at the bottom edge of the focal layer.

The entire focal layer is matted on Old Olive cardstock (also sponged with Close to Cocoa ink).

I added some Chocolate Chip 1/4" grosgrain ribbon that has been threaded with a Very Vanilla Ribbon Slide (found in the Hodgepodge Hardware kit).

After adding everything to the card, I took my Color Spritzer Tool and my Close to Cocoa marker and spritzed the heck out of it.

Very shabby chic...........and perfect for Thanksgiving!!!!

What do you envision when you look at this sketch?  Make a card and then link it to the Stamping 411 Blog.  We choose our favorites each week and showcase them on our Friday post.

Card Recipe

stamps:  Wandering Words
paper:  More Mustard, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla, Autumn Meadows DSP
ink:  Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa
accessories:  Stampin' Write Markers, Hodgepodge Hardware, Chocolate Chip 1/4" grosgrain, Scallop Edge punch, Color Spritzer Tool, sponges

Tisket...a Tasket.....Make a Spooktacular Basket

Wow!  Was this ever fun to make!!! 

I followed the tutorial found HERE for the basic bucket design.  These buckets are so sturdy for being made out of just paper. 

I added a strip of Cast-a-Spell designer series paper, tied a length of Basic Black wide grosgrain ribbon into a classic knot and added the medallion.

Basket Recipe

stamps:  Batty for You
paper:  Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Summer Sun, Whisper White, Cast-a-Spell DSP
ink:  Black StazOn
accessories:  circle punches (1 1/4", 1 3/8", Scallop Circle), Horizontal Slot Punch, Basic Black wide grosgrain ribbon, Circle Scissor Plus, Pillow Box Bigz die, Big Shot, Vintage Brads, Sticky Strip

If you're a follower of my blog, you know how much we love Halloween at my house.  I can't wait to see what other spooktacular surprises await us on all the Blogger's Challenge blogs.  Click on the Blogger's Challenge icon (on the right sidebar of my blog) to get a list of everyone's blog links. 

Click here if you would like to place a Stampin' Up! order

I'll be back tomorrow with the Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch
  

Autumn Decor

I am happy to report that the new carpet has been installed, and my house is now decorated for Halloween.  I am bummed to report that we decided not to put up the Halloween village this year.  It takes hours of work to put it together, and well, since Halloween is this weekend, we opted out this year.

I will post pics later this week of how we decorate the house for Halloween.  I am in charge of inside the house while Dennis is all about decorating the outside.  The inside is a combination of classic with a touch of Cute.  Outside is all about spooky (but no gore....that's where I draw the line).

One thing that is fabulous about being a crafter is that you can decorate your home for such little money. 

Take this candle, for example.......

Here is another view:

This candle is one of the items we made at last week's Spooktacular Stamp Camp.

We stamped images on tissue paper, colored them in with markers and applied onto the candle with my embossing heat gun.  My stamper friends thought I was the stamping goddess after I showed them this technique.  I know for a fact (because I ran into them at the store with candles in their shopping carts) that they were making a bunch of these for gifts. 

Some gorgeous ribbon from the Holiday Mini catalog and sponging of Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint finished off the candle nicely!!!

Candle Recipe

stamps:  Autumn Harvest
paper:  tissue paper
ink:  Black StazOn
accessories:  Stampin' Write Markers (Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, More Mustard, Ruby Red), embossing heat gun, wax paper, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, Mistletoe Ribbon Originals

Imagine what candles you can make as inexpensive holiday gifts.........

Click here to order your Stampin' Up! products today

Pick of the Patch

Have you heard that Stampin' Up! released some new digital downloads?

What's a digital download?  Well, they are digital brushes that work with My Digital Studio as well as other papercrafting digital software or photo software you may already own. 

For this page I used the Pumpkin Patch (for the jack-o-lanterns and grass) and Cast a Spell (for the patterned paper) downloads. 

Scrappin' a page was never so easy.  I created the pumpkins once...then used cut and paste to recreate them along my border.

Would you like to see all the digital downloads available for purchase?  It's easy......go to my demonstrator website and click on "Shop Now".  Click on "Digital Crafting" and then "My Digital Downloads". 

If you have any questions about My Digital Studio or any of the downloads, just send me an email.  Remember, I'm here to help!!!!

Click here to order your Stampin' Up! products

Deal of the Week

Calling all pirates and princesses.......this week's "Deals of the Week" are for you.

The Princess Party Kit and Pirate Party Kit are on sale for $9.99 each (regularly priced $15.95 each).

The Pirate Party Kit (item 116213) contains invitations, eye patches, treasure boxes, banner and food toppers for eight people.  This party kit coordinates with the Pirate Time stamp set and Pirate personalized name stamp.

The Princess Party Kit (item 116214) contains invitations, crowns, purse boxes, banner and food toppers for eight people.  This party kit coordinates with the Princess Time stamp set and Princess personalized name stamp. 

I recommend using our Sticky Strip adhesive to assemble these party kits.

Remember, these party kits are only available for this special price until October 31st. 

Email me today to place your order.   These items are also available on online orders via my demonstrator website. 

Have You Seen my Mummy?

 

Isn't it cute? 

I started with a Taken with Teal base card (4 1/4" x 11".....folded in half).

Adhere torn strips of Very Vanilla cardstock.  Make sure to vary the angles so it looks like wrapped linen.

Use the Texture jumbo wheel and Creamy Caramel ink to make the strips look like fabric.

Use the pad of your fingers to roll back the top edges of the strips.  Sponge lightly with Close to Cocoa ink.

Make the eyeballs using your circle punches (3/4" for the white.....1/2" for the black).  Add some highlights with your Signo White Gel Pen.

Stamp the sentiment (from Teeny Tiny Wishes) with Chocolate Chip ink.....punch with Modern Label punch......sponge edges with Close to Cocoa ink.

Add some Pumpkin Pie 1/4" grosgrain ribbon to the top of the card (three knots).

Can't believe it's Halloween in less than a week............

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

Click here to order your Stampin' Up! supplies

 

Saturday Sketch

This week's Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch had a different twist to it.  It's a square card rather than a standard A2 size card.

I am definitely in Christmas card making mode lately.  I really dislike making lots and lots of the same card.  I tend to make five of one design and move onto something else.  For this reason, I need to start my designing early.

Today's card looks elegant but truly is so easy to put together.

My Real Red base card is 5" x 10", folded in half.

My next layer is patterned paper from the Autumn Meadows designer series paper pack in the Holiday Mini catalog.  I sponged the edges and dirtied it up a bit with my sponge and some Close to Cocoa ink.

The sketch calls for two strips.....I chose to use Chocolate Chip cardstock for both.  I stamped the sentiment on the bottom strip with Versamark, sprinkled with Gold embossing powder and heat with my heat gun.

The gorgeous cardinal (from A Christmas Cardinal) is stamped on Kraft cardstock using Chocolate Chip ink.  I sponged the edges with Close to Cocoa ink and matted it on a 1/8" larger piece of Real Red cardstock.  I placed a gold brad in each of the four corners before adhering onto my card.

I stamped the verse (also from A Christmas Cardinal) with Chocolate Chip ink on Very Vanilla cardstock.  I punched with the Wide Oval punch and sponged with Close to Cocoa ink.

The finishing touch (as well as the final element on the sketch) is the knot of Real Red Polka Dot grosgrain ribbon (the backside of the ribbon is what you see here).

This card will be going to my in-laws.  They birdwatch every day from their three season porch.  Although the cardinals are the "bossy" birds at their feeders, they enjoy their colors all the same.

Are you ready to try the sketch?  I hope so!!!  If you make a project, please use Mr. Linky on the Stamping 411 blog so we can all see it.  It's really easy to use.  You just copy and paste your project's link and it does all the work for you.  You never know, the operators might pick your project as one of our favorites!!!

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

Cupcakes Anyone?

Today I thought I would show you another gift card holder.  Click HERE to watch my gift card holder video tutorial.

I used my Big Bold Cupcakes Sizzlit set to create the cupcake.  After cutting out the frosting die cut, I ran it through my Big Shot using my Petals a Plenty Impressions Die to give it the flower texture. 

The rest of the card is pretty easy to figure out if you watch the video.  I'll list the card ingredients so you know what colors I used.

Card Recipe

stamps:  Teeny Tiny Wishes
paper:  Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White, Melon Mambo Patterns DSP
ink:  Close to Cocoa, Melon Mambo
accessories:  Word Window Punch, Melon Mambo Polka Dot grosgrain, Big Bold Cupcakes Sizzlit set, Petals a Plenty Impressions die, sponges, dimensionals

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

Click here if you would like to place a Stampin' Up! order

Deals of the Week

It's Monday and that means another new set of Deals of the Week.

This week it's all about accessories:

Library Clips (item 112581) are on sale for $3.99 (regularly $6.95)

Basic Jumbo Grommets (item 114348) are on sale for $4.49 (regularly $6.95)

Circle Designer Brads (item 112571) are on sale for $3.99 (regularly $5.95)

Mini Library Clips (item 109857) are on sale for $8.99 (regularly $12.95)

These items are specially priced until Monday, October 26th at 10:50am CT.

If you would like to place an order for any of these items, you can either email me your order or place an online order.

Click here if you would like to place a Stampin' Up! order

 
 
 
 
 

Stamping 411: Saturday Sketch

Selene, the Stamping 411 sketch queen, came up with this beauty.  This sketch is one you can use over and over for all occasions.  Print this one off and put into your sketch binder or journal.

I chose to make a Halloween card for my husband......

As you all know, Halloween is a pretty big deal at our house.  We get a little wild with the fog machine, strobe lights, decorations, spooky music........yeah, its pretty spooktacular (if I do say so myself).

We're actually VERY behind with the decorating.  The weather has been horrible, we've been so busy on the weekends and we're waiting for carpet to be installed.  

This card is to get Dennis in the Halloween spirit (ahem, "honey, can you please help me put all the decorations out?").

The base card is Perfect Plum ( 5 1/2" x 8 1/2"....scored in half).

The next layer is patterned paper from the Cast a Spell dsp pack.  I stamped the large flourish from Baroque Motifs (yes, I love this flourish and will use it as often as I can) using Whisper White craft ink.  The edges of this layer are also sponged with Whisper White craft ink.

As you can see on the sketch, the next layer is a strip.  I used the reverse side of the same patterned paper (which happens to be a Perfect Plum print) and cut it to 1" x 4".  I matted this on a slightly larger piece of Crushed Curry cardstock.

The next layer is Going Gray cardstock that has been heavily sponged with Basic Gray ink.  I also stamped the very end of the flourish with the Whisper White craft ink.  I added a length of Basic Black wide grosgrain ribbon and tied it into a classic knot.

The focal image was so much fun.  I stamped the haunted house (from House of Haunts stamp set) with Versamark ink.  Using the Poppin Pastels technique, I pounced some Basic Black Chalk Pastel on the house.  I then used a cotton swab to color in the moon and windows with the Summer Sun Chalk Pastel.  I added some Old Olive Chalk Pastels to the bottom near the tombstones.  The sky was created using the Perfect Plum Chalk Pastel.  I then sponged the edges with Basic Gray ink.

Now, I wanted to make the moon extra special.  I painted on some Frost White Shimmer Paint using a cotton swab.  I then squeezed on some Crystal Effects to make it shiny.  Together, these two products give an awesome effect to the moon!!!!  I'm so glad I experimented.

Once everything dried, I matted the focal image on some Crushed Curry cardstock.

The sentiment (from Teeny Tiny Wishes) is stamped with Basic Gray ink on Crushed Curry cardstock.

Well, do you think my "bribe" card is going to work?  I sure hope so because we have a lot of decorating to do!!!!

Now it's your turn.....not to decorate.....but to create a card with this sketch.  If you make one, be sure to link it to the Stamping 411 blog using Mr. Linky.  The operators vote every week on their favorites. 

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