More Festive Flurry Ornaments . . .

Here are some more of the ornaments I created using the Festive Flurry Bundle.  Well, actually, the first one is from the amazing Festive Flurry kit (love it that everything is pre-die cut, pre-stamped, and pre-scored . . . makes it so easy to just fold, layer and glue together!!!):

For the hanger, I used the Soft Sky seam binding that is included in the kit, just looped, knotted and glued under the Crumb Cake circle piece that is included in the kit.

For the next sets of ornaments, I made rolled paper stars -- inspired by a beautiful one I received from my friend Renate last Christmas (you can see her creations as well as a tutorial for how to make these on her blog here).  The gorgeous Winter Frost Specialty Designer Series Paper combined with the Festive Flurry snowflakes seemed perfect for these!  Here are a bunch of my creations:

Here's how I finished the backs:

 I made these in three different sizes -- for the largest, the squares were 3" x 3", the medium were 2" x 2" and the smallest were 1.5" x 1.5".  Here are some of the rolled paper stars and snowflakes all packed up and ready to go to the craft fair:

Thanks so much for stopping by!

- Michelle

A Little Flake-y?

Wow!  Has been too long since I've posted here . . . guess you could say I've been a little flaky about posting lately . . . and there are a couple reasons for that!  The main one is that my guys have taken turns being sick since early November.  This has been a tough cold and flu season for us so far . . . and I've done my best to avoid getting sick while trying to take good care of my guys.  The other reason I've been flaky is that I was preparing for a holiday craft faire . . . and actually making lots of snowflake ornaments as part of my preparation for that (I know, I know . . . bad flake pun . . . please pardon my goofy sense of humor!)

Anyway, here are some of the snowflake ornaments I've been creating (they are all made using the Festive Flurry Bundle and Silver 1/8" Ribbon):

The snowflake above has a layer of Pool Party card stock on the bottom, Whisper White stamped with Smoky Slate in the middle, and vellum stamped with Smoky Slate ink, topped with one of the gorgeous Frosted Finishes Embellishments)

 This snowflake variation was inspired by my friend Connie . . . it uses a Silver Glimmer paper snowflake on the bottom, Whisper White stamped with Smoky Slate ink on top of that, then Silver Foil paper heat embossed with Versamark and Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, topped with a Frosted Finishes Embellishment.

This set of snowflakes is made using Soft Sky Card Stock, with some hints of Pool Party and Coastal Cabana.

A Pool Party and Coastal Cabana snowflake . . . with an In Color Boutique Detail Button in the center and, as the close up below shows, I added some Dazzling Details around the snowflakes and on the button:

Another set of Pool Party and Coastal Cabana snowflakes, again with Dazzling Details highlights, as these close ups show:

Hope you enjoyed these!  Thanks for stopping by!!!

- Michelle

SUper Friends September and October Swaps

My SUper Friends downline group has been swapping cards again, and I want to share with you some of the beautiful artwork they've created!

Here are September's swap cards all together:

You might recognize the card in the top right corner from my last post.  The card next to it is an amazing, interactive Halloween card, created by Motoe Tada, using the Peekaboo Frames Bigz L, along with the Halloween Hello, That's the Ticket, and Toil & Trouble stamp sets:

This beautiful, elegant card is created by Agnes Lang, and  features a beautiful, 3D flower made out of pieces punched using the Mosaic Punch.  The greeting is from the Chalk Talk stamp set:

I also love the color combo and layout on this gorgeous autumn card by Cheryl Shepard:

Her card opens to reveal this great surprise:

And, Nancy Poon created this perfectly elegant card using the Festive Flurry stamps and dies:

Then, last week, we met and swapped again!  Here are the October swap cards:

Here's Nancy's card -- she did an awesome job CASEing a card with Festive Flurry from Stampin' Success (Stampin' Up!'s special publication filled with ideas, samples, and more for demonstrators!):

Here is Agnes' beautiful autumn card using the Magnificent Maple stamp, Woodgrain Embossing Folder, and one of the Naturals Designers Buttons:

 And, here is a card I created, which is a CASE of a card on Stampin' Up!'s blog (it was a sample for one of the first Thank You Thursdays, and you can see it in this post!):

The background for my card is created using the Background Builders stamp set.  And, I used a Cantaloupe Crisp, Soft Sky, So Saffron, and Whisper White color combination.

Hope you enjoyed all the artwork and are inspired to create some great cards of your own!

Happy Stamping,

Michelle

Clean and Simple Cards with Tags 4 You

Hi, again!  Posts two days in a row -- can you believe it?!  :)

Today's cards are clean and simple cards I designed for my Holiday Catalog Open House last month.  We used Stampin' Up!'s Note Cards & Envelopes for these, along with the new Tags 4 you set and coordinating Label Bracket Punch.  Here they are:

I used the Simply Scored Tool to create the diagonal lines on the cards to help line up the Washi Tape.  A little sponging on the cards also adds a fun burst of color.

Thanks for stopping by!

- Michelle

Yippee-Skippee for Marlene's Birthday Card with a Twist!

I've been quiet again because it's been a busy two weeks!  Had a few moments to blog today, though, so didn't want to miss the chance to tell you about some exciting things going on at Stampin' Up! and share a great card with you!!!  

Stampin' Up!'s birthday celebration is continuing -- and from now until October 28th, there are 25 fabulous stamp sets at 25% off -- including the Yippee-Skippee! set that my oh-so talented friend Marlene Caravello used inside this card with a twist (for another example and a link to a video tutorial on how to make these, please click here):

Marlene's card base is Crisp Cantaloupe (one of the yummy In Colors new for this year!), and she used the Birthday Basics Designer Series Paper (so fun!)  The tag on the front is cut using the Chalk Talk dies, which are actually one of the Thank You Thursday deals this week!   The "finally . . . " greeting is from the Really Good Greetings set.

Here's the inside of the card:

Marlene used Sassy Salutations (Happy Birthday), Giggle Greetings (cheese with candle, and "age is something . . ." image), Yippee-Skippee ("carbs, schmarbs! . . . ), and  Really Good Greetings ("(and it's all really good!)")

Another not-to-miss special is Stampin' Up!'s weekly deals.  Be sure to check those out, too!!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Great Sport Soccer Thank Yous

Happy Friday!  A quick post today with a thank you card I created for my youngest son's soccer coach last fall (and hadn't gotten around to posting before now!)  It's about time to create a thank you for his league's referee appreciation day and for his coaches this year.  Hoping this will help inspire me -- and you, if you need to create some sporty thank yous, too!  Anyway, here's the card:

Supplies used:

Stamps:  Great Sport, Perfectly Penned

Ink:  Basic Black

Paper:  Bashful Blue, Whisper White, and Brushed Silver Cardstock

Accessories:  1-1/4" Circle Punch, Bitty Banner Framelits.

Thanks for stopping by!

- Michelle

Marlene's Bewitching Trick or Treat Card

A while back, I received this amazing Halloween card from my amazingly talented friend Marlene Caravello, and those of you who've been able to come to my recent classes and events have been able to admire it, but I think it's about time I share it here, too! 

 Here's the front, which features two images from the Toil and Trouble stamp set -- the skeleton and the "eye of newt" piece that is die cut with the coordinating Apothecary Accents Framelits Die.  I love how Marlene used the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set to add just the right splattering of color behind the "eye of newt . . . " Shakespeare quote!  The touch of Witches' Brew Designer Washi tape in the corner is fabulous, too!

This card opens to reveal a spinner inside!!  One side of it:

And the other:

And, a close up so you can see the sparkle of the black Stampin' Glitter a little better:

Isn't this great fun!?!

Thanks so much, Marlene!  I love this card!

Hope you are inspired by it, too!  Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

My First Undefined Stamp: A Pumpkin Carving Cat!

It's been fun to see the great stamps everyone is making with Stampin' Up!'s new Undefined kits, and I just had to try my hand at it, too.  I decided for my first stamp to create a cute image for Halloween of a cat in a carved pumpkin.  Here's the sketch I started with, and the final stamped image:

The actual rubber stamp looks like this:

I ended up doing a fair bit of carving to get the final image how I wanted it to look.  Here's the first stamped image I produced with the stamp:

I wasn't so crazy about all the lines, so kept carving away, and testing and carving some more before I was satisfied at last!

Next, to create a project with my new stamp!  Stay tuned for that!!! 

I'm looking forward to making more stamps soon.  How about you?  Ready to try your hand at carving your own stamp?  

Thanks for stopping by!

- Michelle