Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Sunshine, Love and Hugs

Hello!  Hope all is well for you!  There's been a whole lot of stamping going on around here . . . Friday was Paper Pumpkin Power Hour, Sunday the Halloween Tricks and Treats Class, yesterday we had a SUper Friends meeting, and today a hostess party!!!  So much fun!!!  I might be in withdrawal tomorrow . . . at least Thursday will be the pre-World Cardmaking Day Stampin' Time, so that'll help! ;)

Anyway, wanted to pop in and share some paper sunshine with you!


The card is an adaptation of a couple cards on page 97 of the Annual Catalog that are samples for the Sunshine Sayings bundle.  I designed it as a make and take for my first time volunteering to do some stamping at our local Ronald McDonald House!  That was so much fun, too . . . and I'm so thankful to my friend Margery for showing me the ropes, laughing along with me, and helping me clean up when I managed to cover my hands and arms in Bermuda Bay ink (from the ink we were sponging on to the die cut words -- oops!!)!  That was highly entertaining for everyone there, myself included!  Very thankful to have been able to have that experience and for all the beautiful laughter and smiles that day!

World Cardmaking Day is coming up this weekend, and I'm hoping to get some cards out to spread some more sunshine that day.  How about you?  Do you have any plans for celebrating? Please leave me a comment and let me know, and I'll randomly choose someone from those who comment to receive one of these love and hugs cards!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle




Friday, September 23, 2016

Fabulous Friends Friday: Connie's Watercolor Leaves Card

Happy Friday!  It's been a fun day here -- had Paper Pumpkin Power Hour this morning -- always great to have crafty time with friends!  And, have a card from one of those friends to share with you today!  About a week and a half ago, Connie and I got together to try out some watercolor techniques, and here is a card Connie sent me using some of the pieces she created during that time:



So gorgeous!!!!  Love the fall colors and leaves (stamped with the Vintage Leaves set)!!!  And, love that Connie used some watercolor art to finish the inside of the card as well!  Neat idea!  Thanks so much, Connie, for the fun crafty time together, for the stunning card, and for letting me share it here!  Has me inspired to get my watercolor experiment pieces finished into cards, too!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Halloween Tricks and Treats Class: Dracula's Coffin Treat Box

Hi!  Hope you are having a terrific Thursday!  I'm back today with the final project for Sunday's Halloween Tricks and Treats Class -- a coffin-shaped treat box, created with the Home Sweet Home Thinlits Dies and decorated with a combination of the Sweet Home, Spooky Fun, Ghoulish Grunge, Jar of Haunts, Cookie Cutter Halloween and Hardwood stamp sets (whew!  That's a lot of sets!).  

This project was inspired by Martha Inchley's Dracula's Home Sweet Home.  I did my best to reverse-engineer her design, and in the process tried some different colors and shapes, until I settled on the version for class.  

Here's one of my attempts with Basic Black card stock: 


Ultimately, I decided I like Basic Gray a bit better, since the woodgrain shows up nicely on it! And, here are a couple of boxes I created with that:



And, actually, here's a picture of several of my creations, lined up and open:


Here's a closer inside view of a couple of these -- you can see I took Martha's idea of using a window sheet inside for Dracula to rest on:



As you might have noticed, I decided to line the inside of the box with some red card stock (thanks to my talented friend Jana for the idea -- she used felt in her awesome creation, which you can see by clicking here):



The window sheet can help contain some added treats as well:
 


Pretty fun, right?!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle


Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Halloween Tricks and Treats Class: Spooky Starry Sky Spinner Card

Just a quick post today -- has been a crazy-busy week so far, and it's starting to catch up with me!  Did want to pop in and share this spinner card, though, that will be one of the cards we are creating in my class this Sunday:


The night sky is created with the star swirl image from the Star of Light stamp set (not just for Christmas!), heat embossed with Copper Embossing Powder.  The other images are from the Spooky Fun Stamp Set, die cut with the Halloween Scenes Edgelits, except for the greeting, which is stamped on a piece of Sweet Sugarplum card stock and cut with the Duet Banner Punch.  The spinner part of the card is created using the Sliding Star Framelits

I'll be prepping kits for Sunday's class very shortly, so if you'd like me to prep a kit for you, please let me know as soon as possible!  Hope you can join the fun!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Halloween Tricks and Treats Class - Jar of Haunts Surprise Message Card!

Hi everyone!  Today I have another of the cards for my upcoming Halloween Tricks and Treats Class to share with you.  This started as a CASE of this card from Julie at www.thewaywestamp.com, and you'll see I stayed pretty true to Julie's card with just a few tweaks . . .  

I love how Julie combined the Jar of Haunts Stamp Set, Jar of Love Bundle and Labeler Alphabet set. Although I changed up the card base and first layer colors, I copied the rest of the basic elements from her card:




My background is done a bit differently than Julie's because I decided to do a faux watercoloring technique using the Watercolor Wash Background stamp.  I also added a surprise element to the jar -- not sure if you'd call it a trick, a treat, or a bit of both -- but, it opens to reveal this sweet hidden message:


For the inside of the card, I decided to go with a clean and simple greeting (from the Jar of Haunts set):



After I was finished, I decided to try out some Enamel Dots in some of the flower centers:


What do you think?  Should I have left well enough alone or are the dots a good addition?

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Monday, September 19, 2016

Halloween Tricks and Treats Class: Spooky Fun Watercolor and Grunge Card

Happy Monday!  I'm very excited for my Halloween Tricks and Treats Class coming up this Sunday and wanted to share a closer look today at one of the cards we'll be creating in that class:



My favorite feature of this card is the spooky watercolor sunset behind the die cut tree silhouette!  I have a fun and surprisingly easy trick to teach those who come to class about how to get this look!

I used the Spooky Fun stamp set and coordinating Halloween Scene Edgelits to create this card (save 10% when you purchase those together as a bundle!), along with the Ghoulish Grunge set and Project Life Paper Clips Thinlits Dies.  I added a bit of Gold Metallic Thread behind the pumpkins:


Then, I created another version of the card, and decided to use Black Metallic Thread:


Here's a closer view of that:


Which do you like better?

And, I finished the inside as well:



Also, have you seen this week's deals?  There are some great bargains on Project Life Kits and Accessory Packs as well as the Layering Oval Thinlits Dies!  You can check them out in my online store here (but deals end soon -- on 9/21/16!!!)

Thanks for visiting!

- Michelle

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Sweet Pumpkin Jar Treat Holders and Clearance Rack Deals!

Thanks to everyone who came to the Holiday Catalog Open House this weekend!  It was great fun to have some stamping time with you!  If you weren't able to make it, I hope you'll be able to join me again soon (you can check out my class schedule here).

I prepared a little surprise for those who attended the Open House.  These cute little treat holders, made with the Jar of Love Photopolymer Bundle, Jar of Haunts Stamp Set, and Hardwood Stamp. The idea for these came from BJ Peters, who has an excellent, easy-to-follow tutorial for these on her blog here.

Here's how mine turned out:





Also, Stampin' Up! has restocked the Clearance Rack with lots of fabulous products at equally fabulous prices!  Things are selling out quickly, though, so you'll want to head right on over to my online store and get your favorites before it's too late!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Saturday, September 10, 2016

This Week's Deals

Hi!  Hope you are having a great Saturday!  Just poppin' in here to share this week's Special Offers from Stampin' Up!:



You can also see them in my online store here.

Now back to prepping kits for tomorrow's Holiday Catalog Open House!  ;)  Have made some little surprise treats for those who come by, too . . . will share photos of those after the event!

Thanks for stopping by!

- Michelle

Friday, September 9, 2016

Fabulous Friends Friday: Penguin Card from Shannon West!

Happy Friday!  Hope you are having a good day!  It's been a busy, but good day here.  Looking forward to this Sunday's open house and getting ready for it!  

Today's card was a delightful surprise in the mail -- complete with adorably stamped matching envelope -- from the amazingly awesome Shannon West (you might know her as the leader of the #imbringingbirthdaysback movement!):  


I love this!!!  Such a brilliant combination of the Snow Place stamp set, Sprinkles of Life stamp setBalloon Bouquet Punch, and "thank you" from the Circle of Spring set!!!  Change the greeting, and this would make a perfect birthday card, too!

Thanks so much, Shannon!!!

And, thank you for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Paisleys and Posies Watercolor Cards

While I had my Paisleys and Posies set out to create one of the make and takes for my Holiday Catalog Open House this Sunday, I came across some watercolor pieces that had been on my desk for a while, and decided to finish them off into some cards.  Here's how they turned out:


The "hello lovely' on this card is from the Hello Lovely Project Life Accessory Pack (love that these come with stamps now, too!).


The "thanks" on this one is from the Crazy About You stamp set.  Here's a closer view of the watercolor and stamped paisleys:



I used Melon Mambo and Bermuda Bay for the stamping on these.  I believe the other color in the watercolor pieces on these first two cards is Calypso Coral.

For this card, the colors are Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay, and Old Olive:


The "hello" is from the Flourishing Phrases stamp set.

Hope these cards brightened your day!  Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

August Paper Pumpkin Kit: Bold Botanicals

Hello!  One of the stamping projects I was able to work on this weekend was my August Paper Pumpkin kit!  I'd started it at last month's Paper Pumpkin Power Hour, and it was nice to play and create some alternates with the wonderful materials in the kit!  The stamps are so beautiful!!  I love that the colors and stamps in the kit have a fall feel to them -- especially because I'm certainly ready for cooler weather and pumpkin spice lattes starting around this time of year!  ;)  

This kit was designed with materials to create 3 note cards (3-1/2" x 5"), 3 full size cards, and 3 gift card holders.  I started by creating the note cards in the kit.  However, it seemed a bit of a waste to me to have that beautiful background Mint Macaron pattern on the back of the card, when I could envision using it as part of more card fronts.  So, the first thing I did before starting to assemble these cards was cut the note cards that came with the kit in half.  Then,  I created some note-card-sized Very Vanilla card stock bases to make these 3 cards, which aside from the altered card base, follow the directions in the kit:


Here's a closer view of one of those:



So, what did I do with the rest of the Mint Macaron paper?  I cut three 4-1/2" x 5" Very Vanilla bases, along with a Cajun Craze layer (approximately 3-3/4" x 5-1/2"), and created these three cards:





I was having a bit of fun with my Gold Wink of Stella marker on these -- you might notice some gold splatters on the Mint Macaron paper, as well as some gold highlights on the background stamping in the top two cards, and on the wood leaf elements in the bottom card.

Next, I decided to create the full size cards in the kit.  For the first one, I followed the kit's directions:


It was around this point I began to realize that my Early Espresso ink pad was stamping awfully lightly, and since I didn't have an ink refill to remedy that (although one has been ordered now and is on the way!), switched to the beautifully inked Early Espresso Stampin' Spot that came in the kit!  So, you'll notice the color is better on the cards from here on out!

This card isn't too far off from the original design -- rather than using the circle that came in the kit for the greeting, I used my Layering Circles Framelits to die cut a scalloped Cajun Craze circle, a Mint Macaron circle to layer on that, and a piece of one of the lined note cards that came in the kit:
  

For the final card, I decided to go a bit crazy with the stamping and fussy cutting and added a wreath-like border around the greeting circles (again die cut with Layering Circles Framelits): 



The wooden leaf elements here are some Into the Woods Elements I had left over from last year's Holiday Catalog.  I just checked, and they are available right now on the Clearance Rack at a fabulous price . . . so you might want to head over here to my online store and pick some up before they're gone again!

For the three gift card holders, I decided to cut those into rectangles and create cards instead.  Here's how those turned out:



And, then, I just wanted to play with the stamps and create my own card.  I decided to stay with the Very Vanilla, Mint Macaron and Cajun Craze, but add some Peekaboo Peach to the mix as well:
 


The pretty ribbon is Mint Macaron Sheer Linen Ribbon.  I'd love to make some more of these!  Maybe in some other color combos, too.  What do you think would look good?

Thanks so much for visiting!

- Michelle

P.S.  If you would like to learn more or sign up, be sure to click here to go to my Paper Pumpkin website!  And, for the first time ever, first-time subscribers can buy one month at the regular price of $19.95 US/$26.95 CAD and get the second month FREE! It’s a Paper Pumpkin BOGO deal that you don’t want to miss!  (Fine Print: For first-time subscribers only, not valid on prepaid subscriptions. Offer invalid if subscription is suspended or cancelled during the first two months. After that, the subscription will continue for $19.95 USD/$26.95 CAD + tax per month (shipping included) unless cancelled or suspended. Offer ends October 10, 2016.)

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Holiday Catalog Open House Make and Takes

Hi, everyone!  Hope your week is off to a great start!  We're getting back into the swing of things after a nice long weekend.  I was able to get a fair amount of cardmaking done, so have lots to share with you!  Thought I'd start off with the sample cards for make and take projects at my Holiday Catalog Open House coming up this Sunday!

The first one is a note card done in what I would call "Coloring Book Style," using the new Paisleys & Posies stamp set (and hard to tell from the photo, but the posie next to the greeting is die cut with the coordinating Paisley Framelits Dies, available in a cost-saving bundle with the stamp set here):


While I think it looks quite elegant as is, I also think it would be fun to color in this design!  Maybe some pretty autumn colors?

The second make and take is a 3 x 3" card, which shows off a bit of four different new products -- that's a lot in one little card, right?  


The new products used on this card are the Candy Cane Lane Designer Series Paper, the Copper Foil Sheets, the Cookie Cutter Christmas Stamp Set, and the Cookie Cutter Builder Punch.  While I chose to use Rudolf on my card, there are four other adorable characters you can choose to create instead for your card!

I also tried dressing up the card with a few stars from the Starlight Thinlits Dies.  What do you think?



I'm also planning to have a bonus make and take for those who bring a friend not already on my email list or who place an order.  That will be this tag (copied with a few modifications from the tag on the cover of the new Holiday Catalog:


The tag is made using the Greetings from Santa Bundle and has a mini jingle bell on Santa's cap.

Hope you can join me for some stamping fun on Sunday!  You can find more information in the Upcoming Classes section of my blog or by clicking here.


Thanks so much for stopping by!

- Michelle

Friday, September 2, 2016

Fabulous Friends Friday: Judy-Ann's Bee-u-tiful Spinner Card

Yay, it's Friday!  Quick post today to share with you this awesome and interactive card from Judy-Ann!!!  She created it using the Shooting Star Framelits and Stamp Set (available in a bundle and save!) and the Fruit Stand Designer Paper:



I also made a little video so you could see the card in action:



Thanks, Judy-Ann, for this bee-u-tiful card!!!  :)  Love it!

Thank you for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Holiday Catalog is Here!!!

O happy day!!!  It's September 1st and that means a couple of really fun things happening in the Stampin' Up! world!!!  First, the Holiday Catalog is here!!!  You can see it online by clicking here.


 So many great new products and projects!!!  There are also videos available from Stampin' Up! to go along with some of the new Catalog items.  Thought I'd share a few of my favorites here, and you can find the rest on Stampin' Up!'s 2016 Holiday Catalog YouTube channel here.








Second, for those of you who've missed Weekly Deals (or just like saving money on your craft supplies!), this month Stampin' Up! has some weekly Special Offers planned.



Please click here to shop this week's special offers, which are good until midnight Mountain Time on Wednesday, September 7th!  New Special Offers will post on September 8th!  (Don't forget to check out the Clearance Rack while you are shopping, too!)

Feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you are most excited about from the new Holiday Catalog or this week's Special Offers!  Love to hear from you!

Thanks for visiting!
-Michelle