Well, no stamping for me today---my day is filled with mundane things like laundry, undecorating, making turkey soup and grocery shopping! But I was blessed enough to receive two beautiful Thanksgiving RAKs that I can share with you:
RAK from Wendy
Isn't this a sweet card? Love the earthy colors--thanks, Wendy!
RAK from Dana:
And here is a little peek at the inside:
She is such a thoughtful person!
Well, on to the chores! Hopefully tomorrow I can play!
Today's card is for Sharon's Johnson's challenge #63, which is to make a card expressing thanks! We always need thank-you cards! If you have never visited Sharon's blog, I encourage you to do so! She has a wonderful style, lots of great ideas and tutorials, and always has several creative designers on her team. It is a joy to visit her each day. And there must be a lot of people who agree with me, because she recently hit ONE MILLION hits on her blog!!! Isn't that amazing??? So check her out at No Time To Stamp?
I made this card at 2 am this morning, just a simple homespun kind of card. (Read on further as to why I was awaked at 2 am!). The DP actually has more sage in it than the photo shows...just couldn't get that color adjusted:
I had a little piece of felt laying on my table, so I stitched it up with some brown floss and made a couple leaves for the flower from Best Wishes & More. The sentiment is from Kim Hughes & Cornish Heritage Farm's Making the Grade. I think I will send this to a friend at church who serves so graciously behind the scenes.
And now for my big news!!! Sharon Johnson herself has asked me to be the Guest Designer on Fridays for the month of December!! She is having a big celebration on her blog for 12 days--there will be challenges, features, blog candy and more, so check it out! You will want to be a part of this great celebration! I will be participating in some of the other challenges as well--I can't wait!
Well, are you one of those shoppers who get up in the wee, wee hours of Black Friday, stand out in the cold in front of your favorite department store and then make a mad dash inside to snag up all the bargains once the doors open? Not me!! But.......today, I braved the crowds and I DID IT! I must have had too much coffee yesterday, and just could not get to sleep. So at 3:30 this morning, I was up and driving 17 miles to my store of choice. Un-be-lievable!!! As I said before, we don't give a lot of gifts....homebaked goodies, gift cards, stuff like that, but I did need a couple things, so that is why I thought I would check out the sales. I was not prepared for the how many people were up at that hour of the day! Luckily, I found what I wanted and the line moved quickly. But boy, am I tired!!! So back to the sack I go! Have a great day!
That means it is officially the Christmas season, right! ?
Since I cooked my turkey yesterday; the creamed mushrooms and cole slaw are in the fridge, and I am getting ready to make my salad to take to my sister's, I had a little time to finish this card I started yesterday. It is much more involved than I usually do, but these Whippersnapper stamps have so many fun images, PLUS I kept making bloopers and needed to cover things up!!! Very frustrating! 
Pretty self-explanatory; the images are from Whippersnapper's Snowman for Peace set; everything is stamped on Shimmery White, layered, watercolored; there is some paper piecing, some glitter, some punching from MS, and some glitter! Background paper is from last year's Hostess Prints Pack. Hat & scarf are Patterns DP in Riding Hood Red. The yummy satin ribbon (which is covering up one of said bloopers) is a gift from Ellen Hutson---perfect! It's all on a base of Kraft.
Blessings to all of you this Thanksgiving---I will have some exciting (for me, anyway) news tomorrow---stay tuned!
Today is Broni's turn for the Color Throwdown Challenge, and she has picked some more lovely fall colors for us to use:
My first card was not q-u-i-t-e what I was hoping for, so I made two! Here is the second one, with which I am much happier:
I used a sketch from Sunflower Studio, turned on its side--of course! And I used some more of my Martha Stewart glitters. I just wish I had stamped my little reindeer a little more in a straight line! And I wish the picture did it justice, it is so pretty IRL! The snowflake was spray-glued and also glittered with some MS glitter! So here is my first card:
This is my first attempt with Whippersnapper stamps--they are very cute, just take a little different pressure while stamping than what I am used to. I think this is a little busy, but it will be a good friendship/birthday card! Hey, remember to post a link to your own CTD creation at our blog, Color Throwdown Challenge, or if you post to an online gallery, use the keyword CTD21. Let's see what the other designers came up with:
Reindeer card :
Doggie card:
Stampin'Up! is having a special sale---a Holiday Extravaganza--even the demonstrators don't know what will be on sale! The details will be announced Wednesday, November 26, so be sure to check out the Promotions section on my website link HERE!!! Items will be bundled together and priced at 20-50% off, just in time for your holiday shopping! Check it out!!
Sorry for the lack of posting---I think everybody is in the swing of the holidays, and I have one more Christmas Card Stamp Camp to do tonight, so I have been prepping for that. One of my customers' daughter is having foot surgery today, so I thought I would make a QUICK, really simple card for her using some of my new MS glitter! When my own daughter saw all the colors, she immediately picked out her favorite combo, so I will try to make something with them as well....someday!
I used Versamark ink to ink up the bold flower from Best Wishes & More, stamped it on my cardstock and then sprinkled Heat & Stick powder on it. I heated it up just til it melted, then poured on the glitter and re-set it with the heat tool. It is quite bling-y!:
Of course, you can't see glitter very well in a flat photo, so you'll have to use your imagination. The background was stamped with the jumbo Spunky Spots wheel in Pretty in Pink. I have NO good "get well" sentiments, so I inked up my retired Rough Edges alphabets and spelled it out in Lovely Lilac. THEN I realized I got purple ink all over the edge of the white panel---aaaaackk!!! So DD suggested some swirlies on the white panel, so I got out Season of Joy and stamped the swirl in Almost Amethyst. The scallops are some retired DP from last year, punched with the scallop punch. I know she likes horses but I hope she likes flowers too! TFL!
I also have a confession: I am so bad....I have been awarded the Kreativ Blogger Award three times and have never posted it!! One was my upline, Pennie; another was Pat; and the third was Jennifer--thanks so much, girls! I find it amazing that they nominated me----they have tons & tons of talent!!! Each time I visit their blogs, they wow me with their creativity! So you know how it works:
1. The winner may put the logo on their blog.
2. Put a link to the person who sent you the Award.
3. Nominate five blogs for the Award. So here are my five nominees:
Make sure you check out their creative blogs and give them some encouraging words! And don't forget to stop back tomorrow for the next Color Throwdown Challenge!
I finally took a few minutes out of a busy couple days to sit down & just stamp something for me, for fun! I always like to check out Our Creative Corner's challenges, and this week my stampin' buddy Denise had a sketch challenge:
I loved Jennifer Meyer's submission with the vintage-looking background, so I CASE'd that a little bit; I used Kraft instead of Close to Cocoa. There is quite a mix of stamps on this card! TFL!
As soon as I saw Tammy's post for the PCP sketch for today, I knew I wanted to try it! You can see her adorable card, as well as the sketch itself and a link to PCP here. I tweaked it just a little to make it work with my rub-ons. I have been playing with them a lot lately--so much fun! And they're on sale to boot! (Check out my Stampin' Up! link on the sidebar for more info, or read this post.) So here is my submission:
This was a snap to make; this Basic Grey Wassail paper has many beautiful choices, but I liked how this pattern echoed the trees in the rub-on, so it was a quick selection. The sentiment and snowflake from Season of Joy along with some Riding Hood Red ribbon finished it off. Oh, a little green bling on the snowflake, too! Thanks for visiting-enjoy your weekend!
Are you sick of me yet today? I have just a couple more things to share!
This is just a little shaker card that I made with all my Stamp Clubs this fall. Lots of fun in a simple little card!
This is for Sharon's challenge today, to stamp on ribbon. It also uses a loose interpretation of the Paper Craft Planet Sketch Challenge for this week, shown here. The inside uses a Bible verse from a very old SU set; it was probably one of the first I ever bought!! The sentiment is stamped on the ribbon with Chocolate Chip craft ink, then heat set.
Have a great evening!
Edited to add: Sorry these photos are so grainy--still experimenting with my tutorials!
Something I have realized is that I am a boring stamper. That is to say, I only (mostly) stamp cards, because I actually send my cards to people. Okay, I save some of them, but most of them, I make to send. Also, I don't make a lot of gift items, not because I don't give gifts, but I probably don't give as many as some people...I don't have children in school, most of my friends already have enough "stuff", so I find myself a little shy in the area of stamping projects other than a card. So, I have challenged myself to find something new, old or recycled to stamp, other than a card!
Yesterday, I received some jewelry from a party I attended recently. As I was headed for the trash to throw away the cute little boxes, I thought, "Hmmmm.....I could recycle this into a cute little package for my workshop tonight!" So off I ran into my stamp room for my first attempt!
This style of jewelry box has a bottom and a sleeve that slides over it. I could make this myself, but it is already made! Why reinvent the wheel? I measured it up and found some cute SU paper to fit.
I just folded it to fit, added some adhesive and here is my little sleeve!
I covered the ends of the box itself so they were nice & pretty, too!
But I wanted to add something to the top, maybe a little “bling” snowflake, so I punched out a snowflake from some Baja Breeze cardstock with a Martha Stewart punch.
I had been wanting to try some Elmer’s Craft Bond spray that I had gotten for another project, just to see how the glitter would stick with it. So I gave my snowflake a liberal spray, sprinkled on some SU Cosmo Glitter and wow, what a great effect! I heat set it with my heat tool just to make sure it didn’t go anywhere. That stuff is very sticky and works great! I also applied it to a scrap piece of paper, sprinkled on Dazzling Diamonds, heat set it & punched out a center! (Too bad this photo doesn't do it justice!).
I added a couple little peanut butter cups embellished with some images from Deer Friends, nestled them in some cello shreddie and my gift was done. This was one of my hostess gifts—I hope she enjoys them as much as I enjoyed making them! I just got some new MS glitter and I can’t wait to try this again!
It feels like Christmas today--I am listening to carols and IT IS SNOWING in Southeast PA---a wonderful snow that clings to the trees and looks so pretty, but melts on the road and doesn't mess up anybody's travel plans! What a great Friday!!!
Today is Friday, and that means another Stamp Something challenge from Denise & Erin! The challenge today is to stamp something for Thanksgiving, or in honor of someone or something for which you are thankful. As the guest designer, I chose to do something a little bit different than a card--I hope that was okay!
Every Thanksgiving (and I mean EVERY), my sister prepares a wonderful meal. My house is too small to have our family, and even if we visit my DH's family, she still prepares it for her family, my dad and her father-in-law. I help when I can, but she still bears the brunt of most of it! As a teeny, tiny thank-you, I made a little basket charm to hang on her bread basket. (She makes HOMEMADE yeast rolls! Yum yum!)
Here's a close up:
The image, from a retired SU set called Thanksgiving Blessings, was stamped on watercolor paper and colored with inks and an aquapainter. It was then mounted on ovals cut with my Nesties in Really Rust & Always Artichoke. I tied it to the basket by adhering a ribbon on the back of the charm with Sticky Strip and fed the ribbon through the slats of the basket.
I also made a smaller charm using the sentiment and tied it to the opposite side. 
These charms are fun & easy to make and are a great gift for anyone you know who uses or collects baskets! Check out the Stamp Something blog and let us know what your thankful creation is!!!
Last night was my last Christmas Card Stamp Camp. I am going to miss all my girls! We had a great time, a full house, some new faces--lots of chattin' & stampin' going on! So on to the cards--sorry the pix are not so clear---a very yucky, cold, gray day here:
This was a fun easy card to do!
Another quick easy one--the inside sentiment of the scalloped image was covered by the candy cane image. This is a cool way to get extra use from your stamps!
This is my favorite! I love these colors together! Can't see the glittery roof, but it really makes for a cozy snow scene!
Thanks for visiting!
Need a quick gift idea? My friend Kim had one of these Create-a-Calendar kits on her blog; I had purchased a kit, but had never assembled it, so I decided today was the day! How fun & easy--this is a great idea to make for someone, or to give as a kit. It is certainly easy enough for anyone to assemble, and although I did NO stamping, you could certainly embellish it by stamping with any style of stamps!
Here is what you get with the kit: an outside folder to assemble, pages, tabs and die cut adhesives with which to decorate your pages, and some wide grosgrain ribbon. The pages are backed with yummy designer paper in nice bright colors. I chose to tie up my calendar cross-wise so my pages wouldn't fall out and also because I didn't want to hide the fun strips on the front! So I even have some leftover ribbon to play with on another project! This whole kit is only $7.95, plus tax & shipping--a bargain!
You can order these online from me any time! Just click on this link: Create-a-Calendar.
You can also see the other specials we have this month: Rub-ons, the Country Living Stamp Kit, and the Holiday Extravaganza. Just click HERE.
Have a great day and stay warm! ! It is like the Arctic here in SE PA!!!
What great colors Tammy has picked this week! Lovely fall colors of Elegant Eggplant (which I don't use enough), More Mustard, Sage Shadow & Ruby Red:
I went a little outside my usual style for this card--I love these colors, but I didn't want to do a watercolored image, and I wanted all the colors to have equal exposure. I also "challenged" myself to use some chipboard. I found a WHOLE SHEET of alphabet chipboards I received at convention and forgot I had! Yikes! So I incorporated that into my card as well. Here it is:
Each color has been punched with the Square Scallop punch and stamped with the little vine from Fresh Cuts. The chipboard letter is covered in DP from Autumn Vine. I added a couple ribbon accents along with a little button from the Button Bouquet. It even has a tiny Eggplant "ribbon" threaded through the holes.
So, let's see what you can come up with using these beautiful colors! Post a comment on the Color Throwdown blog and link your own creation so we can all see it. Or, if you prefer to post on an online forum, use the keyword "CTD20". Here's what the other designers did this week:
Thanks for visiting, hope you're able to play along!
Mmmm! I just opened my mail to a wonderfully yummy, scrumptious treat! My dear stampin' bloggin' friend Tammy posted this post a little while ago, and I wondered if perhaps it could have been for me. I DO love orange & chocolate, but I am sure there are others out there as well who do too! But when I got this big package in the mail today, I did a big happy dance:
Isn't this just the prettiest package? But wait til you see what's inside!
When you pull on the wonderful satin ribbon, up comes a big surprise! Notice that says "INTENSE" Orange! I just can't wait to dig into this....must have self-control!!!! Be sure to check out her post from yesterday, as she has details about how to make these candy sliders. They are fun & easy and trust me, the recipient will LOVE them! Thanks again, Tammy!
No other posting for me today, unless I get really productive, but stop back tomorrow for our Color Throwdown Challenge! For those of us who are blowing away from cold winds, or even snowed in, STAY WARM!
I have been busy all day prepping for some classes and clubs, so I haven't had much time to stamp! I was searching for a quick sketch and came up with this one from Card Positioning Systems#91:
I am trying to make several Thanksgiving cards for family members that we won't see, so I inked up an Inkadinkado clear stamp, So Thankful for You:
I tweaked the sketch a little. Thanks for looking!
Today is DH's birthday, and while I usually make him a card with a boat on it (he loves his sailboat), I decided to make him a cute little cupcake card, using Beate's weekend sketch, 
This card is a tad more busy than I usually make, what with all the little punched out confetti and glitter-- but he seemed to enjoy it! He was even happier when I brought out his birthday "cake", which was a blueberry pie. He is a pie kind of guy! TFL!
Ah, I love that word---plethora. Who uses that word, anyway? I guess I do sometimes! Anyway, my weekend has gotten away from me, filled with family & life, so I am late posting the card I made for yesterday's challenges:
So here it is:
Today marks my first week as the guest designer at Stamp Something. I still can't believe it! Denise & Erin are so helpful and their challenges are inspiring! MY challenge is to live up to the quality I see on their blog! This week's challenge is a sketch:
And a fun sketch it is! Here is what I came up with:
I found this little snowman stamp in a retired SU set called Little Somethings. Isn't he the cutest? Each one of his scarves is colored to match the background square, and each snowman is mounted on a snowflake, punched by a MS punch. The Ski Slope DP just looks so snowy and swirly, I love it! Be sure you check out the Stamp Something blog and stamp something yourself!
Hah! I bet you thought this would be a white card, didn't you? I decided to play the color challenge at Paper Craft Planet, which was White, Riding Hood Red, Really Rust and Basic Gray:
Since Stampin' Up! has a rub-on promotion going on right now (click here for details), and I have a workshop tonight, I thought I would make a couple samples using rub-ons:
This is my favorite! No stamping on the outside at all, just rub-ons! To cover up the edges of the wide ribbon on the inside, I added another panel and also stamped an image from Eastern Blosoms:
This is a square card measuring 4 1/4".
On a final note, for real, I saw a partially-albino crow in my yard today. I have seen him before, but he was really close today, but I wasn't able to get a photo. I am going to keep trying--he is quite odd-looking, but he seems to fit in with his cohorts just fine!
