autumn bursts of color...

Wanted to pop in and say hello to everyone out there. I know I don't post much as far as personal things go, and I want to change that. Tell me, do you prefer to see just scrapbooking work? Or other things as well? I've often wondered. I want to blog more as well...I know the 'ole blog has not been very busy around here. Feels like I haven't gotten to craft just for fun in a long time. Hoping to change that too!

Our fall has been extremely busy! Seems like this time of year goes so fast with school functions, activities after school, homework, my daughter's birthday is coming up (her 14th!), Halloween and Thanksgiving. Before you know it, Christmas will be here! Eeek! We are getting adjusted to life in Colorado and just love it SO MUCH! The people here are wonderful. I'm feeling at home and getting settled. We went home to visit my family over fall break recently, and it was refreshing to get a little dose of my mom again. The girls are meeting friends and having sleepovers. Seemed like it just took some time to feel like we were "home" in our new home and area. Now I'm working on getting my scrap room going and getting organized. THEN I will really feel at home and can start crafting just for fun again. I'm getting there! Promise to start blogging more with projects just because. Most of all, I wanted to say thank you for sticking with me during the past six months of this transition in our life. It was a big one, but we are so happy! xo

CUPPA card kit by Studio Calico...

Studio Calico's November kits are almost ready, they're being revealed at midnight tonight!

This month I received the CUPPA card kit (here's a little sneak)...

...the card kit add-on, CINNAMON SPICE (another little sneak)...

...and GINGERBREAD, the scrapbook add-on #1. Fore more photos of what's in each kit, visit the links!

I was inspired by all of these kits and ended up mixing and matching on most of my projects!

First is my main kit only card made with CUPPA. On the "Thank You" card, I used the Prima chalk ink that came in the main card kit, stamped thank you, then clear embossed it on vellum. I layered it over some patterned papers from the card kit with some of the star confetti sandwiched in between. Added a strip of the cute washi at the top! (Everything you see is from the kit except the twine and vellum.)

The arrow is stamped and cut out and adhered over the top.

Next, another card where I just played around with the Cuppa stamps and some fun ink colors! I used mostly the main card kit, but added the star pin from the card kit add-on, CINNAMON SPICE.

(Blue-gray ink is from the kit, and the Harvest Gold/Raspberry Fizz/Melon Berry/ New Leaf inks are by Papertrey Ink.)

I made the butterfly with the washi tape in the kit by cutting strips of it and adding it to a piece of cardstock, then I placed a butterfly die from Papertrey Ink (Love Lives Here) over the top and die cut it with my Cuttlebug machine.

On this one, I stamped the wreath to create the background (main card kit). Added the stamped hearts and a "special delivery" sentiment from the main card kit stamp set! Super cute stamps this month!!! You won't be disappointed!

Don't you love these little bow clips from GINGERBREAD? I slid it onto the ribbon and added the gold bow sticker over the top. Another trick on this card...see the edges? That is washi tape.

Here I used the main card kit stamps again in the background, then I added a few things from the card kit add-on (the chipboard) and GINGERBREAD (believe sticker and patterned paper). 

The snowflakes were die cut with Papertrey Ink's Fancy Flakes.

This one is made mostly with Gingerbread, but the wreath stamp and bow are from the main card kit. 

I fell in love with the Heidi Swapp sticker words and had to have them!

This paper was in the main card kit and I had to give it a try. I'm not usually into black, but I thought mixed with the sparkly Thickers, it would make an elegant card!

To get the white splotchy background, I used washi tape and stuck it to the paper, then pulled it off. Created this cool effect!
Last but not least, one of my favorites this month. I made a gate-fold card. It opens in the center, and would work great for a gift card holder! Let me explain how.
To create this card, I cut a strip 11" long and marked the center with a pencil, then folded the two ends in to meet in the middle. I rounded the two center corners. The whole card was embossed with a dot Cuttlebug Embossing Plate. I wrapped it with the wire ribbon and added the bow clip to hold the ribbon in place. This way you can slide the clip off to remove the ribbon and open it up! The clip also doubles as a money or gift card holder! Slide some money on the inside of the card and clip it under the bow.

The wire ribbon is really neat to curl and stays in this shape! I added the button from Cinnamon Spice, and the 25 chipboard and "merry" from the Gingerbread kit. The washi tape serves as a cute decoration for the envelope!


Hope you'll grab a Studio Calico kit today, they are lots of fun!

SC November card kit sneaks...

I have a "Cuppa" of sneaks to share with you. lol This is the CUPPA card kit by Studio Calico for November...coming soon! This one is made with the main card kit, and I added my own twine. Don't you love the font on the thank you stamp? I sure do!

And this one includes the November scrapbook add-on #1. I had to get it because of the Heidi Swapp word stickers - love those! The wreath is stamped with the main card kit stamps. You will adore the stamps this month - FAB!

This one is also with the main card kit and scrapbook add-on #1. See the blue-gray ink? That ink is included in the main card kit! Very awesome.

I'll be back soon with more. :)

release day...

The Papertrey Ink team is back to show you what other products are new this month! All of the new products will be released tonight at 10 p.m. EST. 
The frame on the first card was done with the new Boutique Borders: Thinking of You stamps and dies. I stamped the bottom with Mini Blooms.

Thinking of You card:
STAMPS: Boutique Borders: Thinking of You, Mini Blooms
INK: Pure Poppy, Aqua Mist, Harvest Gold, Spring Moss
PAPER: Aqua Mist and White cardstock, Pure Poppy Pattern Pack
DIES: Boutique Borders: Thinking of You
OTHER: ribbon from Michael's, pearl by Melissa Frances, white embossing powder.
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Next is the new Tis the Season Sentiments and the new Cover Plate Center Stage that I cut out of Soft Stone cardstock. I stamped the Joy from Tis the Season Sentiments right over the cut cardstock with black ink.

I added "merry" cut from the Wonderful Words: Holiday set, some punched circles and twine to finish it off.

Joy Merry card:
STAMPS: Tis the Season Sentiments
INK: True Black
PAPER: Pure Poppy, Soft Stone, White cardstock, blue stripe is from Candy Cane Prints Pattern Pack
DIES: Cover Plate Center Stage, Wonderful Words: Holiday dies
OTHER: twine from Papertrey Ink.
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This is made with Rustic Wreath. I added the wreath over the Fancy Flake die and just colored the wreath in with a Copic marker to shade it a little bit.

Joyeux Noel card:
STAMPS: Rustic Wreath, Background Basics: Houndstooth
INK: Scarlet Jewel, Sweet Blush, Classic Kraft
PAPER: white, cream, Pure Poppy
DIES: Fancy Flakes, Rustic Wreath
OTHER: glitter, twine, flair- A Flair For Buttons on Etsy, Copic marker.
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This one's made with the new 2013 Holiday Tags. I repeated the holly motif from the tag onto the card with the Mistletoe & Holly set, used Spring Moss and Scarlet Jewel for this card - love this combination!

Little Something card:
STAMPS: 2013 Holiday Tags, Mistletoe & Holly
INK: Spring Moss, Scarlet Jewel, True Black
PAPER: Cream, white, Classic Kraft Pattern Pack
DIES: Fancy Flakes
OTHER: glitter, twine.
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On the Let It Snow card, I used the new Wonderful Words: Snow die and stamps, Background Basics: Evergreens (this is actually a long border that I trimmed down) and Background Basics: Christmas Joy (the word stamping on the bottom piece).

After I cut the word "snow" out, I kept the bottom piece and fit it back in. Love how that looks! I popped the front piece and the snow up, so you could see how the snow word fits into the bottom better. I didn't want it to blend into the striped background.

Let It Snow card:
STAMPS: Wonderful Words: Snow, Background Basics: Christmas Joy, Background Basics: Evergreens
INK: Aqua Mist, Simply Chartreuse
PAPER: Candy Cane Prints Pattern Pack, white cardstock
DIES: Wonderful Words: Snow, Fancy Flakes, Background Basics: Evergreens, Card Base-ics 2 die
OTHER: twine, wood veneer by Studio Calico, pearls by Melissa Frances.
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Next is Confetti Garland Borders. Aren't they adorable! You get circles, hearts, stars and snowflakes - 4 borders in the set! I cut the circle ones from white cardstock, then stamped the circles in all kinds of fun colors. Last, I punched matching cardstock colors, sprinkled on the dots and adhered them pretty much where they landed.

Sentiment is from Stylish Sentiments: Birthday. 

Wish Big card:

STAMPS: Confetti Garland Borders, Stylish Sentiments: Birthday
INK: Hawaiian Shores, Aqua Mist, Raspberry Fizz, Simply Chartreuse, Harvest Gold, Sweet Blush, Melon Berry
PAPER: Hawaiian Shores, Aqua Mist, Raspberry Fizz, Harvest Gold, Sweet Blush, Melon Berry, Pure Poppy
DIES: Confetti Garland Borders
OTHER: hole punch.
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And last is Polka Dot Parade #9. I used the little star and the saying from this set. The bigger star stamp and the star border die are from the Confetti Garland Borders!

I stamped the Background Basics: Houndstooth in Scarlet Jewel and them cut out the One Liner from it. I wanted this card to kind of look like a gift, so I made 2 sides and separated it vertically with the Confetti Garland Border die and then separated the horizontal center with the One Liners die and the seam binding. 

Joy From Our Home to Yours card:
STAMPS: Confetti Garland Borders, Polka Dot Parade #9, Background Basics: Houndstooth
INK: Fine Linen, Classic Kraft, Scarlet Jewel, Dark Chocolate, Versamark
PAPER: Rustic Cream, Smokey Shadow, Scarlet Jewel Pattern Pack
DIES: One Liners, Confetti Garland Borders
OTHER: Seam binding.
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Visit the rest of the team to see more of the new products:
Ashley Cannon Newell
Betsy Veldman
Cristina Kowalczyk
Dawn McVey
Debbie Olson
Erin Lincoln
Heather Nichols
Laura Bassen
Maile Belles
Melissa Phillips
Nichole Heady

city scene...

The Papertrey Ink team is counting down to their new October releases! Everything you see here in the next few days will be available on the 15th at Papertrey Ink. Today we are sharing projects made with City Scene, City Scene Sentiments and City Scene Christmas Sentiments, along with the dies to match.

I stamped a few fun buildings, trees, the road, and then added some embossing powder to the tops of everything to make it snowy. (I didn't heat the embossing powder, just used it for the look of snow!) I actually used the nose from Come All Ye Faithful Additions to add the ball ornaments to the one tree!

It's Christmas Time in the City card:

STAMPS: City Scene, Come All Ye Faithful Additions, City Scene Christmas Sentiments
INK: True Black, Classic Kraft, Pure Poppy, New Leaf
PAPER: gray - craft supply, white
DIES: none
OTHER: corner rounder, embossing powder.
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This one is more modern than I'm used to, but I just thought it would be so fitting for this sentiment.

The buildings are die cut in gray and added over the top of Smokey Shadow cardstock. The sentiment is embossed with white powder for more contrast, and the stars are stamped with Fresh Snow ink.

The Skyline is the Limit card:

STAMPS: City Scene, City Scene Sentiments
INK: Fresh Snow, Versamark
PAPER: gray - craft supply, Smokey Shadow
DIES: City Scene
OTHER: white embossing powder.
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Visit the rest of the team to see more with these cool city scenes stamps!
Ashley Cannon Newell
Betsy Veldman
Cristina Kowalczyk
Dawn McVey
Erin Lincoln
Heather Nichols
Laura Bassen
Maile Belles
Melissa Phillips
Nichole Heady

come all ye faithful...

The Papertrey Ink team is counting down to their new October releases! Everything you see here in the next few days will be available on the 15th at Papertrey Ink. Today we are sharing projects made with the new Come All Ye Faithful and Come All Ye Faithful Additions by Erin Lincoln, along with the dies to match.
This one was the first card I made, and I really love the addition of the antlers and cute nose on the dog. Gives it some cute character, don't you think? I chose this dog to work with, because her profile looks just like my little pup! 

The stitches on the sides are from the new Confetti Garland Borders stamp set.

Cold Noses card:
STAMPS: Come All Ye Faithful, Come All Ye Faithful Additions, Confetti Garland Borders (stitching stamp)
INK: Fine Linen, Classic Kraft, Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate
PAPER: white
DIES: Come All Ye Faithful, Come All Ye Faithful Additions
OTHER: none.
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This one is strictly made with Come All Ye Faithful stamps and the new Confetti Garland Borders dies. Pretty simple one.

It's Cold Outside card:
STAMPS: Come All Ye Faithful
INK: Classic Kraft, Fine Linen, Dark Chocolate, Pure Poppy
PAPER: white
DIES: Come All Ye Faithful, Confetti Garland Borders
OTHER: none.
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Visit the rest of the team to see more with these cute pups and their accessories!
Ashley Cannon Newell
Betsy Veldman
Cristina Kowalczyk
Dawn McVey
Erin Lincoln
Heather Nichols
Laura Bassen
Maile Belles
Melissa Phillips
Nichole Heady

...happy belated World Card Making Day!

So last Saturday was World Card Making Day, and I meant to get this post up sooner, but failed miserably - been so busy! Saturday I was invited to a WCMD celebration with some Colorado peeps, and I had such a nice time meeting everyone. They were all so friendly and welcoming! We did a lot of snacking and crafting and chatting! (Not necessarily in that order, but I enjoyed my time with everyone and can't wait to do it again soon!)
In back: Stacey Shafer, Tenia Nelson, Noelle McAdams, Michelle Gross, Wida Yusufi-Miller, Lee Murphy, Ceal Pritchett, Kim Singdahlsen (who I found out also lives in Parker and grew up in the same town I did in South Dakota!), Vivian Masket, Carisa Zglobicki. Front: Annette Allen, me, Alyssa Scritchfield.

I have to say that I'm really happy to have people close by that enjoy the same things I do. Can't wait to get together with them again - it was a talented bunch and so fun to see what they were all working on!

I have a couple of things to share today. These are OMBRE cards made for one of Studio Calico's challenges this weekend. I used the stamps from the last card kit and card kit add-on from Studio Calico, Antiquary and Athens to stamp darker and lighter shades of ink, creating an Ombre effect.

I stamped the outer leafy ring in red ink. Before reinking for each leaf, I stamped one more time to get a lighter shade of the red.  So every time I loaded the red ink, I would stamp twice with the same stamp before reinking and grabbing more red. This helped me achieve an ombre look with one ink color. Then I used orange stamping ink for the inner ring, using the same technique to achieve shades of orange and yellow. Finished it off by stamping a sentiment in the center in kraft ink and black ink, and lastly popping the card front up onto a white cardstock base with foam adhesive. Simple, but I love how the ombre look creates a dramatic effect!

This was a card made for Pink Paislee's sketch challenge for WCMD. 

I used some Secret Crush paper, Cottage Farms Ephemera, a new Sentiment Series sticker, Artisan chipboard by Pink Paislee and Heidi Swapp flowers that I found at Michael's - sprayed them with Heidi's Color Shine in Sweet Cherry and Blush.

I hope you had a fantastic World Card Making Day too! I am currently working on my Papertrey Ink new releases for October, just received my box yesterday, and I have 4 cards made already. Woot! I'm on a roll. Have a good day, everyone. xo