Lovely as a Tree Meets CAS

I have not had much stamping time this weekend, but I did squeeze in a fun mini "class" on watercoloring with my friend Lorraine and her mom Anna.  So when I saw today's Clean & Simple Challenge #39 on SCS, I knew I could incorporate one of my samples into the sketch:

I already had a Sahara Sand base cut;  I added a panel from BG's Ambrosia.  I quickly stamped a little leaf and watercolored it, popped it with a little circle punch, then cut out my tree with a Nestie.  I originally wanted to tie the leaf onto the ribbon (see the little hole?) but couldn't make it look right, so I just tucked it under the ribbon with a dimensional.  I just happen to need a get-well card for a dear friend from church--during the service yesterday, he fell ill and passed out....much to the surprise and dismay of everyone!!  He is fine, but stayed in the hospital overnight and hopefully will be home in a day or so.  So I thought this would be a great card for him!   And I doubt he'll even notice that little hole!   Thanks for visiting today!

• Stamps:  Lovely as a Tree
• Paper:  Sahara Sand, Watercolor, BG Ambrosia
• Ink:  Stazon Black, Earth Elements
• Acc:  Nesties, Circle Punch, misc satin ribbon, dimensionals, aquapainter

JUGS Challenge #5

Whew, I am getting this one in just under the wire...the Halloween wire, that is! Today's Just Us Girls challenge is to make a holiday card for a photograph. Kristin didn't say exactly WHAT holiday, so I made one last Halloween card. (And make sure you visit the blog....they have CANDY!).

Anyone who reads my blog knows that we are hosting a woman & her brother while she gets a guide dog, who will help her with migraines and balance issues from brain tumor surgery. They "graduate" tomorrow and today they had a Halloween party, complete with costumes, so yesterday, we sat & cut out felt petals and used black pipe cleaners as a framework so that Dutch could be a "black-eyed Susan". I was fortunate enough to get a pretty good picture of Dutch wearing his costume---he looks a little forlorn, but really, he's quite happy! I made it into a big easel card and I will give this to Lynn as a special reminder of the time she & Dutch spent with us:

He & Lynn won a prize for being the best look-alikes!! Here they are:

The card itself is very simple; I used Basic Black, Whisper White, & Summer Sun cardstock, making a 5 1/2" square card. The witch hat is embossed in White EP using White Craft ink. The other images are from Crafty Secrets' Halloween set, the "happy" is from SU's Happy Everything set and the words are computer-generated. The directions for the easel card can be found on SCS here. If you have any other questions, just shoot me an email! Hope everyone has a safe, happy Halloween!!!

A Few Little Fun Things

I had a workshop for a stamping friend last night and so I made a few little goodies to take as samples and door prizes.  One thing that I love about stamping and stampers is their willingness to share ideas..I don't think there are many industries out there where creative secrets are shared as openly as in the stamping world!  That being said, most of these ideas (if not ALL) were cased from people more creative than I!!!

This hostess gift is two Boxes #2 adhered together and punched to make a handle, then decorated with some seasonal decor.  I added a couple more goodies after seeing the idea for these on Donna's blog, Butternut Sage:

Just a little candy favor using the Top Note as a topper....

And a little gift bag & candy treat:

The Santa idea came from Dawn; the reindeer from CeeCee; and the candy treat from Becky.  I don't remember whether she had the turkey idea, or someone else, so if anyone remembers, let me know & I'll give the credit!!!  I need to run, so if anyone wants any details, just leave me a comment and I'll get back to you!  And check out my good news here!  Woohoo!!!

Think Pink Ink

 

This week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge #14 (check it out--they have blog candy!!) is to use pink to make your card, and the Saturday Sketch Challenge #122 at Stamping 411 is to make a square card with this layout:

I took a little bit of creative license and did not use squares, but stamped & cut out the heart image from Sweet Centers for my VERY pink card:

I only have a few more days to get my photo "studio" back, so meanwhile, you have to put up with the "homey" look of my stamping table, plus it is dreary, dreary, dreary, here today!  Anyway, this uses lots of pinks and is really a little more busy than I would have preferred, but it was a fun card to make and certainly highlights a lot of products, so it will be a good sample for my camps and workshops!  Thanks for visiting again today!

• Stamps:  Sweet Centers, Short & Sweet
• Paper:  Melon Mambo, WW, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Tea Party DP, Razzleberry Lemonade DP
• Ink:  Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo
• Acc:  Scallop Border Punch, 3-Heart Punch, Circle Punches, Taffeta Ribbon, Dimensionals

Happy Harvest

While watching the Phillies win last night, I did some watercoloring to make a nice fall card for a special friend:

The floating pumpkins are stamped on SU's watercolor paper and colored with reinkers; textured cardstock that was embossed with the Autumn Type CB is DCWV; sentiment is from PTI stamped on a SU Lots of Tags diecut. Ribbon is from my stash. There is a little sparkly stuff on the pumpkins that you can't detect here, but it gives a nice dewy look! I think I will be able to get in some stamping time today, so perhaps I'll have a second post!!! Thanks for visiting today!

Color Throwdown #66

Happy Wednesday! It's my turn to host the Color Throwdown and I have (as usual) challenged my team with my three colors of Rich Razzleberry, Elegant Eggplant and Bordering Blue....(for some reason, they just don't like the blues!!!) I was enthralled by the flowers that Mona made for the Just Us Girls Challenge Week 4 and I thought the rich colors of the challenge would look great with this technique. (She has a video tutorial, so check it out!) If you don't have these exact colors, feel free to substitute as we want everyone to play! Here is my sample:

I think this is an elegant color combo and although I would not be able to put this card in an envelope, it would be a nice card to tuck into a gift bag for some lucky recipient!

Check out what the other designers have done, then be sure to post your own creation on the CTD blog via Mr. Linky! You've got a chance to be a Featured Stamper or a Guest Designer! Good luck!

• Broni - Splashes of Watercolor
• Tammy - Stamp Happy
• Cathy - Crafty Thoughts
• Barbara - Paper Pursuits
• Danielle – Wild Dragonfly Designs
• And our October guest designer, Lisa Kind - Kind Creations

• Stamps: Baroque Border Wheel, On Your Birthday
• Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Elegant Eggplant, Bordering Blue, Brushed Silver, Confetti White, tissue paper
• Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Elegant Eggplant, Bordering Blue
• Acc: Rhinestones, Nestie Ribbon Tag Trio, Crimper, Tissue Paper, Brayer, Ret SU Organdy Ribbon

Diva Coffee Break Designs #151

Today's Diva challenge is a sketch, and this one was a real challenge for me!  I needed another Halloween card, so I pulled out all my Halloween stamps and went to town!  Here's the sketch:

and since I was doing a Halloween theme, I used the colors from Stacey's Stamping Stage Curtain Call Color Challenge #8:

Here's my not-too-spooky creation:

 
There are layers and glitter and ribbons and more glitter!!!And I even decorated the inside:

 

Be sure to stop by the DCBD blog and play along!  Link your creation to Mr Linky and you could be chosen as the Featured Stamper of the week!

• Stamps:  Little Boo, Eat, Drink & Be Scary, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Holiday Blitz, Holiday Best (Hostess)
• Paper:  Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, WW, Night & Day Specialty Paper
• Ink:  Pumpkin Pie, Stazon
• Acc:  1 1/4" Circle Punch, Slit Punch, CAD, SAMJ, Gingham Ribbon, Grosgrain Ribbon, Eyelet, Scallop Edge Punch, Dimensionals, DD Glitter & Glue Pen

Thanks for visiting today!