Scheveningen!

This is a two-page 12x12 layout that I just completed. The pictures are some of the highlights of our trip to Scheveningen, Holland, where my husband & I went in May of this year to visit his family. The printed paper is from K & Company's Sea Glass collection, and it coordinates beautifully with Stampin' Up!'s Really Rust, Baha Breeze, Chocolate Chip & Very Vanilla.

Next Tuesday, November 22, will be the last Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stack for this year! I posted this card on September 26, 2008, and by popular demand, this is the card we'll be making!

Workshop cards

These two cards are the ones I'll be demonstrating at a workshop this weekend. The Christmas card uses Snow Swirled stamp set, and Garden Green, Certainly Celery, and Real Red paper. The Friends card uses Upsy Daisy and Best Yet stamp sets, and Pink Pirouette, Handsome Hunter, and Sage Shadow paper.

Stamps for sale

Pics of more cards & things are coming soon, I promise...now that football season is over & Mom's taxi service gets a little bit of a break, I should have more time for stamping! In the mean time, I've been cleaning out my stamp room & posting stamp sets & stamping stuff on ebay...take a look if you're interested in some good deals on retired stamps:

Katie's eBay page

Faux Dry Embossing

This card uses a faux dry embossing technique that I learned on SCS a while back. I used "Upsy Daisy" and "Brocade Basics" stamp sets from Stampin' Up!, Lovely Lilac & Sage Shadow are the colors used, and the ribbon is white grosgrain colored with a Lovely Lilac Stampin' Write marker. Instructions for this tecnique are here .

Guitar Thank You

I made this card as a thank you card for my son to send out. All of his friends and family gave him cash for his birthday recently, and he bought a new electric guitar with that money, so I thought a guitar shaped card would be appropriate!

Christmas Stamp-a-stack

This is the card we'll be making tomorrow night at my Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stack event. I used "Snow Swirled" and "Bella Toile" stamp sets from Stampin' Up! to create the images. Colors are Bravo Burgundy, Always Artichoke, and Very Vanilla, and accessories are gold ep and Very Vanilla ribbon.

This is for today's technique challenge on SCS - Mini Pizza Boxes. This was a fun & quick little project, and it makes a box that's just the right size for one cookie! I used Barely Banana cardstock, Not Quite Navy and So Saffron ink, and "Fresh Cuts" stamp set from Stampin' Up! All edges are sponged , & the flower is popped up on dimensionals. You can find a tutorial to make this box on SCS here .

This card is for today's sketch challenge on Splitcoaststampers. I used "Sock Monkey" for the main image (duh!), "Classic Backgrounds" for the background images, and the word party from "Everyday Flexible Phrases". Colors used are Baja Breeze, Barely Banana, Real Red, and Creamy Caramel cs & ink, along with Stampin' Write markers in Real Red & Brocade Blue. All edges are sponged, and the card is finished with Caramel Gingham ribbon, and a blue flower button from Designer Button collection.

Jon's 13th Birthday card

I made this card last night for my son's 13th birthday. I used Sage Shadow for the main card color & background stamps, Creamy Caramel for the cone, and Orchid Opulence, Regal Rose, and Very Vanilla for the scoops. The "13" is actually a letter "I" and "E" punched out of a scrap of leftover Vintage Violet cs using alphabet punches from Armada. The background stamps are from "Big Bold Birthday", and the ice cream cone is textured using "Canvas" background stamp.

My One Little Book

This One Little Book from One Piece of Paper was created using a pattern from Janine Tinklenberg's blog. I used some retired Stampin' Up! paper (I didn't want to cut into current paper if I totally goofed up!), lots of punches, ribbon & sponging. I stamped "inspirational" type words
from Everyday Flexible Phrases.
When I was finished, my first
thought was, "That's cute, now
what do I do with it?" So, I gave
it to a friend's 11-year-old
daughter & told her she could
put her friends' pictures in it.
She seemed thrilled, so I guess
the One Little Book
has at least one little use!

Instructions & a template can be found on Jan's blog here: http://stampspaperscissors.typepad.com/stamps_paper_scissors/

I made this card for today's color challenge on SCS, Really Chocolate Breezes. The challenge was to use Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, and Baja Breeze together. I used those colors in cardstock and ink, along with Whisper White cardstock (neutrals are allowed). I used "Big Bold Birthday" and "Full of Life" stamp sets. I made the chocolate chips on the cupcake by punching circles from Chocolate Chip cardstock with my 1/4" circle punch, then adhered them with 2-way glue pen. I used Stampin' Dimensionals to pop-up the cupcake, and added copper eyelets for bling.

Batik technique

This card is for today's Technique Lover's Challenge on SCS. The challenge was called Batik - the Colorwash Way. We were to create a Batik effect on watercolor paper by stamping with Versamark, then embossing with clear embossing powder. Next, you add water and a few drops of reinker in two different colors to two spray bottles, and spray the watercolor paper. Finally, you use a dry iron, with a sheet of computer paper on each side, to remove the embossing powder. This creates the "Batik" look. I used the "Seeing Spots" stamp set from Stampin' Up!. I don't have any watercolor paper, so I used Whisper White cardstock, and sprayed it with plain water after embossing, to soften it so that the reinker would soak into the paper easier. I used Riding Hood Red and Pacific Point reinkers, but the colors turned out much lighter, so I finished the card using Orchid Opulence, Regal Rose, and Whisper White cardstock and ink, and Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon. I sponged all the edges, and added silver eyelets for some "bling."

I made this card for today's Limited Supply Challenge on Splitcoaststampers. The challenge was called "Holly Jolly Critters", and we were to use animal stamps to create holiday cards, using ribbon as the only embellishment. I used Loads of Love and Loads of Love Accessories; Old Olive, Bordering Blue, and Whisper White paper; Old Olive and Basic Black stamp pads, Stampin' Write markers, and Versamarker. Card is embellished with Moss Gingham ribbon, and Dazzling Diamonds (I know, I cheated!). The moon was made by punching a 1 1/4" hole in a Post-it note, then using Stampin' pastels in white to fill in the circle.

I made this card while waiting for my hubby to come home this evening. I used "A Beautiful Thing" stamp set from Stampin' Up!, Barely Banana, Baja Breeze, and Basic Black cardstock and ink, and a mini library clip from the Clips Assortment. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out...

World Card Making Day FREE Open House!

I'm having a party to celebrate World Card Making Day! At this free event, I will have several make-n-takes for you to make. Plus, Stampin' Up! is offering many discounts beginning October 1, like 20% off any Simply Sent card kit or Simply Sent card elements, and 20% off selected birthday sets with a $20 purchase, for example. AND get your name entered in a drawing for a free stamp set! You'll receive one entry for yourself, plus one entry for each friend you bring who is not already a customer of mine! Come and join the celebration! Check out my Stampin' Up! website for all the details!

Stamped Creations

Scraps

This card was created for todays limited supply challenge. The challenge was to create a square card using only scraps. The main image is from "Infinite Goodness" by Stampin' Up! It is a leftover piece from a day that I was playing with my Watercolor crayons, trying to get different effects with them. The ribbon is white grosgrain that I colored with Stampin' Pastels.

I'm guilty of blog neglect...

I guess I've neglected my blog long enough, thought I'd try to get into the habit of posting on a somewhat regular basis...that said, I'll try to keep it updated for the next few days, but I'm leaving for a trip to Germany next Wednesday, April 30...I'll be gone 'til May 9, so hopefully I can get this thing on track when I get home.

This is another card for today's challenge on SCS - using leftovers. Image is from Winds of Grace by Stampin' Up!, the background stripe and photo corners are leftovers from a Simply Scrappin' kit.

I made this card for Limited Supplies Challenge 152 on SCS- using leftovers. The challenge is to use leftovers from previous projects. I found the background in my scraps of attempted techniques, it was made by putting rubber bands on my brayer. I also found a whole stack of Vintage Violet scraps - thought that was all gone a while ago! I added Dazzling Diamonds to the flower for some "Bling", but I don't think it showed up in the scan. I made this card for my SIL's sister's birthday.

OK, so yesterday morning, we awoke to a temperature of 60º inside the house! Obviously our heat pump had stopped working overnight! And naturally our American Home Shield warranty just ran out 3 weeks ago! So my dear and wonderful husband, who is an electronic technician, decided to look at a few obvious (to him) things, before calling for service. He found a loose connection on something, fixed it, and saved us who knows how much $$$ on a service call!!! Now today it's 2º outside, but a balmy 74º inside!!! Yeah!

This is for the Ways to Use It Challenge on SCS (WT150) using Paint. I used some old crackle medium that I've had for quite a while (bought it during my painting phase, which came before my stamping phase!) , then stamped with Stazon, and colored with pastels & a blender pen.