Sweets for the Sweet...

 Love is in the air whenever there's a wedding, and my husband and I recently were in Chicago for a fun wedding. This is a copy of the card I made for the happy couple.

One of the couple's colors was a Tiffany blue, so this card features Baja Breeze along with some Cherry Cobbler and white instead of pink.  I tried to do a box pleat along the bottom of the card which didn't really turn out, but it still looks acceptable, so there we go!

 

I thought this card would work for most of the CCMC challenge this week. Thanks for the visit!
Made also for this fine challenge:
Art Impressions Banners and Bunting Challenge

Spice Cake Fall Wreath

 

Happy Autumnal Days to everyone! Today I want to share a brief tutorial with you about how to create your own fall burlap wreath. Before you know it all the leaves will be falling and there will be trick-or-treaters at your door. So, let's get started!

MATERIALS NEEDED: Straw/foam wreath, burlap, pearl-headed straight pins,scissors, fabric, buttons, designer paper, hot glue gun, sticky strip circles, and tulle.

STEP #1 - Cut your burlap into 4" strips. You will need about 7-10 of these depending upon how tight you wrap your wreath.

Step #2: Begin wrapping your wreath with one strip at a time. Secure strips with straight pins in the back of your wreath.

Step 3: Once you have the wreath covered in burlap, grab some tulle (I used a vanilla shade) and wrap it in the same fashion only more loosely along one side of your wreath. I tried to scrunch and gather mine as I pinned it to give it some fluff!
 

 

Step 4: To make the fabric flowers, tear 1-2" strips of fabric. Get a stricky strip circle (I cut mine from SU's sticky strip pages) and start to adhere one edge of the fabric in a pinch and gather motion around the sticky circle. The center will be bare, but it's okay because you will cover it with a rosette or another fabric middle. To make a flower center, create a paper rosette/lolly, or cut a scallop shape using your Big Shot. In my picture you can see I just mixed and matched paper lollies with fabric scallops.

 Step 5: To secure the flowers, pick out a button and push your pearl-headed straight pins right through the wreath. Keep positioning them until you get the look you want. Add a pretty ribbon at the top and hang it up to show off some autumn glory!

Made for these challenges:
Inspire Me Fridays Anything Goes Challenge
Stampin For the Weekend Floral Challenge
Divas by Design Lots of Layers Challenge
Frilly and Funky Vintage Challenge
Ink it Pink Material Challenge
The Three Muses Autumn Challenge
Paperminutes Autumn Challenge
Papertake Weekly - A Hazy Shade of Autumn Challenge






 

A Little Birdie Told Me...

...that it's time for more woodgrain! Yes, I broke out this embossing folder yet again, but tried a new technique with it this time. I inked up the folder with some Chocolate Chip ink and then fed it through the Big Shot with some white paper. It adds a different effect and looks kinda cool. I got the idea of punching a hole through it and popping the birdie in later. Hope you are somewhere enjoying the birds sing! Thanks for stopping by!

Materials used: Island Indigo CS, Lucky Limeade CS, Harvest DSP, Champagne Glimmer Paper, 1 1/4 Circle punch, Bird Punch, gold brads.

Some Fabulous Challenges I would like to enter this card for!
Simply Create - Anything Goes
C.R.A.F.T. - Autumn Challenge
Creative Card Crew - Tree Challenge
Crafty Cardmakers - Winged Things Challenge

Apple-Picking Time!

I know the canning craze is getting lots of play, but I just couldn't resist. I am thoroughly enjoying the switch over from summer to fall and hope you are too. Do you have some mums out? Have you seen some leaves falling? Have you been to a crisp evening football game? Maybe it's premature, but I'm definitely ready to leave the hot air behind and dive into a pile of leaves. So, even though I haven't canned anything since I helped my mom as a teenager, I had to get this canning stamp set and framelits from Stampin' Up purely for nostalgic reasons. Gah. It's just too cute! Hope you are enjoying some Fall wherever you are! Stop over at SIMPLY CREATE TOO to play along with our Anything Goes Challenge...hope to see you there!

Materials used: SU Orchard Harvest Designer paper, Perfectly Preserved Bundle (stamps & framelits) by SU, Expresso Coordinations paper, woodgrain embossing folder, sanding block, daffodil delight seam binding, Island Indigo CS, Raspberry Ripple CS, Comfort Cafe DSP.

Made also for these fabulous challenges!
Scrapalicious - Welcoming Fall Challenge

Spooky Hexagon Fun

 

I am so wishing that I had a Hexagon punch right now! I don't know about you, but I have been seeing so many cute cards with the hexagon imagery. So what you see is my attempt to make my own hexagons. They are okay, but I wanted them to be cute and small so when they turned out bigger, my patience had left the building, and I just decided to use them as best I could. I wanted it to be as cute as Debbie's card seen here...maybe next time!

Materials used: Wicked Cool Stampin' Up Stamps (120600 $14.95), Witch stamp retired, Polka Dot Parade DSP (126902 10.95) Summer Smooches DSP (125409 10.95) Herringbone DSP, Orange Glimmer Brad, Lucky Limeade Twine)

Made with these other challenges in mind as well:
All Sorts Layers Challenge
Challenges for Everybody - Anything Goes
Pile it On DSP Layers Challenge
Delightful Challenges - Halloween
Papercrafting Journey - Anything Goes
Pixie Dust Studio-Halloween

You're Amazing!

You're amazing! No, I mean it! What if someone said these words to you everyday, wouldn't that be great? Speaking of amazing, this mojomonday sketch really challenged me. Truly. Otherwise, I doubt I would ever have put these colors and images together. Have you ever made something that really surprised you? Like made you say, "Where in the world did this come from?" Because this is exactly what I thought when this card was done. I like how it turned out, but I'm still not sure exactly how it came together this way. I suppose I will just embrace the mystery. Hope you do too! Thanks for stopping by.

Materials used: Stamp set: You're Amazing by Stampin Up!(126722 $22.95), Howlstooth & Scarringbone DSP (126906 $10.95), Champagne Glimmer Paper (127885 4.95), First Edition Series DSP (121878 12.95)

Made also for these fine challenges:
Inspire Me Fridays - Anything Goes
One Stop Craft Challenge - No Floral Embellishments
The Squirrel and the Fox - Anything Goes
Riot of Colour - Ink on My Fingers Blog
Addicted to Stamps - Use Bling!

Sympathy Card for Clear It Out Challenge

It seems like the older I get, the more I unfortunately need sympathy and get well cards. Sigh. Hopefully, you don't need any right now, but if you do, here is some inspiration. We would love it if you could play along with our Clear It Out Challenge this week which involves:

Theme: Sympathy      Stash Item: Dark Papers

To make this card, I used some new Stampin' Up Coordinations Cardstock, ran it through the SU embossing folder, and sanded off the top to show the grain. Cool, right? For the background paper, I dug out some older autumn deep turquoise DSP, colored in my image & sponged pastels around the edges, plus added embellishments. There you have it! Thanks for stopping by!

I am also submitting this card to the following challenges:)

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

Sassy Cheryl - Got the Blues? Challenge

Shopping Our Stash - Wood Challenge

 

 

Falling for Fall

 

Look at these colors...are you kidding me!? My Stampin' Up order came on Friday and whet my appetite for Fall. Who woulda thought that Raspberry Ripple would be so pretty with the hues in the new Autumn Harvest designer series paper? I doubt I would ever have put them together until I saw this falling leaves paper. I'm lovin' the brights!

 This card layout was also inspired by Unscripted Sketches #174  and The Paper Players Falling Leaves/Trees Challenge this week. See?

To make this card, I used SU's NEW! Wood Grain Embossing Folder, which is awe-to-the-some because you can also use it as a stamp by simply inking it up. Another cool thing to try from the new SU catalog is the Coordinations cardstock and sandpaper block. To make this embossed look of tree bark on my card, I ran my Early Expresso Coordinations cardstock through the  Big Shot with my wood grain folder and then sanded off the top.  Then, it was just a matter of layering some pretty paper from Orchard Harvest DSP and Comfort Cafe DSP along with some Brights Buttons. You can find all these items by going to the SHOP!

 

Thanks for stopping by...I'm also entering this card in the

Delightful Sketches - Fall Days Challenge

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

A Very Vintage Challenge!

Hello everyone! Today's card is inspired by the So Old/Vintage Card Challenge happening now at Simply Create Too! You need to get there and play along with us. Grandparents Day is coming up on Sept. 9, so crack out your vintage stamps and papers and make something that has the "back-in-the-day" vibe. Can't wait to see what you make!

For this card, I finally opened up my new Fan Fair paper (see below) along with some newsprint from Stampin' Up. I used a retired stamp from the Puns from the Past set. To make it look "vintagy" I sponged everything with Chocolate Chip ink and added tulle, stitched ribbon and a diamond button.

Made also with these challenges in mind:
Paper Crafting Journey- Anything Goes
Meljen's Designs Anything Goes Challenge
The Paper Shelter-Anything Goes Challenge
Perfect Sentiment Challenge - Sentiment on front

Bright & Light Wedding Card

 Good Monday Morning! I am enjoying my last week before the kids and I go back to school, and decided it was a great day to play along with a few challenges. I designed my wedding card from the new Mojo Monday sketch seen below. I am loving my new Easy Events stamp set by Stampin'Up that I used for the bird image. It is so versatile!

 

To make this card, I used the following products: Small scallop punch (127811) to make the flower (punch 5 scallops,spritz, and scrunch around brad), Summer Smooches DSP (#125409) Wild Wasabi CS (108641), Pacific Point CS (111350), Scallop Square Bigz Die (#115950), Labels Collection Framelits (#125598), Designer Label Punch (#120907), Bird Builder punch for leaves (#117191), and Easy Events seen below.

I am linking up to the following challenges this week...thanks for stopping by!

Mojo Monday 256

365 Cards - Stripes

CraftyBoots - Tweet Tweet

Forever Friends Anything Goes Challenge

Love to Create - Hand made Flowers Challenge

 

 

 

Glittery Get Well Wishes

Welcome to a new Clear It Out Challenge this week! To win, you have to show a picture that inspires you, as well as your creation based on that picture. Our stash item this week is something GLITTERY. So without further ado, here is my card this week:

My inspiration was this photo of purple orchids and the summery shimmer on everything you see. I love the beauty of orchids, yet have never been able to keep one alive very long. Still, I tried to capture the greens and golden light in this photo by adding some gold glitter paper and champagne sparkles to my paper flower card. I hope it will brighten someone's day!

 Here is a close-up of the flower. I colored and then cut out the flower and the two smaller leaves on the bottom. Lastly, I popped them up with dimensionals and added the glitter.

Show us your inspiration and/or use some glitter stash over at the Clear It Out Challenge this week! Thanks for stopping by!

Items used:
Fabulous Florets Clear Stamps #123027
Twitterpated Designer Paper #125406
Garden Green Ink and CS
White Organza ribbon

Made for these challenges:
Watercolor - Sweet Stamps Challenge
Can You Digi It? Purple Challenge
Use Your Stuff - Challenge #48 - Summer Inspiration
Lollipop Crafts - Anything Goes
Stamp With Fun - Bling Challenge

Baker's Twine Christmas Trees Tutorial

Greetings and welcome to a new tutorial. I realize that it's a bit early for Christmas, but I am working full-throttle on items for my FIRST-EVER craft fair this year! I need some quick and easy cards with a WOW factor, and really liked pairing these cute little trees from the Scentsational Bundle Stampin' Up set with the Snow Festival Designer Paper. If you want to make some for yourself - check out this easy 5 step tutorial! Thanks for stopping by! Cheers!

 

 Add some bling!

 I had fun trying them in all different colors. Stop back another day, and I'll load up a few more for you to see!

Items used can all be found here at my Stampin' Up Shop if you like!
Products:  Garden Green CS, Cherry Cobbler CS, Whisper White CS, Snow Festival Designer Series Paper, Holiday Collection Framelits Christmas Tree Die (#127814), Rhinestones, Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine, Greetings of the Season Clear Stamps (#128033)

I'm linking up with these fabulous folks!
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Punches & Dies Challenge at Delightful Challenges
Just Keep On Creating - Christmas Challenge 
Celebrate the Occasion - Christmas in August Challenge
The Life of Jennifer Dawn
Frugal Girls Chic & Crafty Ideas
Craft-O-Maniac

Clear It Out Challenge This Week!

Hello everyone! There is still time to play along at the Clear It Out Challenge this week.

• The Challenge Theme is One for the Boys: Make a Manly Card
• Stash item is: Use two or more patterned papers.

I don't know about you, but I always need some manly cards and got inspired to make this one. Here is my take using Mojo Monday's Sketch this week:

I also made this to play along with the man challenge at Use Your Stuff. As you can see, I decided to flip the sketch mainly because I wanted to use an oldie-but-goodie boat image on the bottom. My stash of patterned papers is from Stampin' Up's new International Bazaar designer paper and Comfort Cafe paper plus some awesome Champagne Glitter Paper. Other items used were hemp twine, silver brads, Night of Navy CS, Crumb Cake CS, & Sahara Sand CS. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Free Fabric Gift Bag Tutorial

Well, ladies and gentleman, Stampin' Up is having a massive-super-awesome clearance sale on some of their fabric, and I was lucky enough to get a stash at convention, soooo.....I have been busy here putting together a picture tutorial for these awesome little gift bags I made out of my pile. Let me just say that I have a ton of motivation to share but lack some picture editing skills, so bear with this post as you scroll down to see how these babies were made:) If anything seems unclear or if you want to order some goodies, just email me for details!

* Note: Full-on disclosure here...I am a LAZY seamstress:) This project requires sewing only 3 straight stitches. If you don't want to or can't sew, you could using fabric binding stuff or probably even sticky strip to put these bags together.

Items you will need: Fabric (cut 9 x 7"), seam binding or ribbon, clothespins, designer paper, sewing machine (or fabric binding stuff/maybe even sticky strip?), cute stamps.

 Really, you will just be sewing ONE side and the bottom. I am always looking for sewing shortcuts!

All together now!

Yay! I sincerely hope this tutorial made sense. These great little bags were inspired by Laura Milligan at Stampin Up's 2012 Convention. To order the items I used, check out this section:

Deck the Halls Fabric only 99 Cents on clearance - enough to make 24 of these bags! Get out! Plus, there are at least 4 more sets of different fabrics to choose from. All 99 cents!

Scentsational Season Stamps and Framelits Bundle. For only $32.95, you get 6 stamps consisting of a gingerbread boy, christmas tree, candy cane, hot chocolate mug with steam, and a star. PLUS, you also get the framelits to cut them out using your Big Shot. That's what I did! You can also get lots of matching seam binding for all your projects. I used: Very Vanilla Seam Binding & Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding. Thanks for looking! Cheers!

I am entering this project in a few challenges this week:

Anything Goes Challenge at Christmas Stampin' All Year Long

Fabulous Friday Challenge - Fabric!

Inspire Me Fridays 71 - Anything Goes

Fabric, Fiber, and Trim Challenge at Delightful Sketches

Anything Goes Challenge at CraftyCatz

DIY Home Sweet Home

Sew Chatty

Make it Monday #43