Mojo Monday 208

This weeks Mojo Monday challenge is a sketch. I love all of their sketch challenges but I really like this one because it appeals to my neat and orderly side! It’s a great layout and as soon as I saw it I knew what I wanted to do. The Open Seas is by far one of my favorite Stampin’ Up! sets from the Summer Mini Catalog. It was carried over after the catalog expired so I think that you can still get it now. I love the masculine feel and I always need to use a nice dark blue paper with it. I usually use a beige background but I opted for white to give it a crisper look. The stamps are extremely detailed and have a bit of a vintage feel to them. I used Basic Black Classic Stampin’ Ink for the images. The Sentiment is from the retired set Afterthoughts. I like the nice clean lines and uncomplicated simple look, hope you like it too. 🙂

PPA 113

Ahh.. how I love a good Pals Paper Arts Challenge! Especially when there are no specific colors to follow! This weeks challenge is to use heat embossing, something I haven’t done for years. I love all of the new Stampin’ Up! stuff that I have and my favorite items are the Builder Punches. I decided to go with the Cupcake Builder Punch. I embossed the red sprinkles and cherry as well as the sentiments. I like the card but I guess I need to get some Stampin’ Up! embossing powder because the stuff I have isn’t that great. I also need to get an Embossing Buddy! Here are the list of  “ingredients” for the card and the picture is below. Thanks for stopping by!

Stampin’ Up! Products Used:

Card Stock: Whisper White and Delightful Daffodil

Designer Series Paper: Brights Stack

Punches: Cupcake Builder Punch and Scallop Trim Border

Stamp Sets: Create a Cupcake

Ink: Real Red Classic Stampin’ Ink and VersaMark

Embossing Powder: Not the best!

Inch For You

The Starter Kit that you get when you sign up to be a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator comes with a lot of stuff but paper is not one of them! I have ordered some more so in the mean time I’m using what I have. This card is made with a retired set called Cute By the Inch. I like it because it comes with 9 stamps and it really is cute and they fit on inch squares! I used Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive Stampin’ Ink. The Brights Designer Series Paper Pack is great, I turned the Old Olive Stripe 90 degrees for a little more interest. The Card Stock is also Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie with some Whisper White. I like the simplicity and fall colors are appropriate for this time of year. Thanks for looking!

My First Workshop!

So tonight was the big night! LOL! I had my first Workshop. My good friend Melissa was kind enough to host the Workshop. It was a small gathering, Melissa, Kim (My BFF!), Linda (Melissa’s mom) and Gina (Melissa’s sister). We had a really nice time. The only complaint was that there was too much to choose from in the Idea Book & Catalog! That’s a good gripe if you ask me! I have posted some pictures of the card that I made for the Workshop below. The first one is the Thank You card I made for Melissa for being kind enough to host the Workshop. The second one is the Make & Take. The rest of them are just cards I made to show off some of the products. I think everyone had fun. I know that Gina filled out her Make & Take thank you card and sent it off to a friend. I think that might be a first!!

Melissa’s Thank You Card. 🙂 I used Whisper White, Early Espresso and Basic Black Smooth Card Stock. Brights Stack Designer Series Paper. Basic Black Stampin’ Pad. For All You Do Wood Mount Stamp Set. Owl Builder and Ticket Corner Punch. Stampin Dimensionals.

The Make & Take. Whisper White and Old Olive Smooth Card Stock. Brights Stack Designer Series Paper. Old Olive Stampin’ Ink. Kindness Matters and Pretty Postage Clear Mount Stamp Sets. Scalloped Trim Border and Postage Stamp Punches. Stampin’ Dimensionals.

For All You Do Wood Mount Set. Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive Stampin’ Ink. Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive Smooth Card Stock. Brights Stack Designer Series Paper. Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Whisper White Smooth Card Stock. Brights Stack Designer Series Paper. For All You Do Wood Mount and Delightful Dozen Stamp Sets. Real Red Stampin’ Ink. Marina Mist and Delightful Daffodil Stampin’ Write Markers. Cupcake Builder and Ticket Corner Punches. Whisper White Satin Ribbon. Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Whisper White, Basic Black, Old Olive, Real Red and Early Espresso Smooth Card Stock. Brights Stack Designer Series Paper. Delightsful Dozen Clear Mount Stamp Set. Real Red Stampin’ Ink. Owl Builder Punch. Stampin’ Dimensionals.

3 X 3 Tag Card. Whisper White Smooth Card Stock. Brights Stack Designer Series Paper. For All You Do Clear Mount Stamp Set. Real Red and Basic Black Stampin’ Ink. Ticket Corner Punch.

Whisper White and Real Red Smooth Card Stock. Brights Stack Designer Series Paper. Happiest Birthday Wishes Clear Mount Host(ess) Stamp Set. Real Red Stampin’ Ink. Scalloped Trim and Tag Punches.

Maritime Birthday

Today was my good friend Brian’s birthday. He’s a really nice guy and will do anything for anyone. He a real manly man, being he’s a fireman and all! So, for his card I got to use one of my favorite Stampin’ Up! Sets, Open Sea. I love the detail in the stamps and the set has a nice masculine quality about it. The greeting is from the Happiest Birthday Wishes set. I’m huge fan of navy blue and vanilla card stock and those colors work well with this set. The silver star brad in the corner balances out the card front and gives it a little shine. Thanks for looking!

Pals Paper Arts 112

This weeks challenge was to use lace. I am not a lacy kind of guy but I do have the Martha Stewart Crafts Doily Lace Trim Deep Edge Punch from EK Tools which I thought was perfect for this. The stamp is from the Stampin’ Up! Simply Soft Stamp Set. I colored in the leaves with a colored pencil. The Stampin’ Up! For All You Do Set provided the thank you. I love the color combination of red, beige and ivory. Thanks for looking!

Today’s the Day!

I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to become an Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator. After running in to my friend Sandy and seeing all of the beautiful cards that she makes I was intrigued about the products. After attending her workshop I was impressed. The quality of the stamps, inks, markers and other accessories was better than anything I had seen before. I stopped by her house and spoke to her about what joining entailed and signed up when I got home that night. I have been patiently waiting for my starter kit to arrive and after much package stalking it will be here today. I can’t wait to get it and start creating new cards with all of the great stuff. Hopefully I will be able to post something later on today. Wish me luck! And a special thanks to Sandy, for being a great and talented friend! 🙂

Cool Seasons Greetings

And by cool I mean color wise! This is a nice simple card that has a wintry feel about it. I used the new EK Tools Snowflake Layering Punch. I really like the layering punches, they give you a great look with minimal effort. I also used another one of my favorites, the CuttleBug Snowflake Embossing Folder for the background. The stamp I actually found in a box from years ago, still in great shape and very nice. For a final subtle touch, a nice thin natural string bow. I’m looking forward to making many more holiday  cards!

Happy Anniversary

Today is my parent’s wedding anniversary. I think they have been together for 43 years! I like to make cards specific to a persons taste. My mom loves the color purple and butterflies. That made designing this card simple. I used my Butterfly Layering Punch from EK Tools and punched out two different shades of purple. I also used the CuttleBug Swirls Embossing Folder for the background. The stamps are from studio g. Unfortunately I didn’t have a happy anniversary stamp so I used two different ones that convey the same message. My mom loved the card and the fact that I used her favorite color and that I used butterflies which she commented on as soon as she opened it! I hope that they have many more happy years together!

Mojo Monday 207

It seems like forever since the last Mojo Monday, but it’s only been two weeks. I’m glad that they are back and hope they all had a nice vacation! This weeks sketch challenge is a nice one. I love all of the pieces that are on the card. I have been trying to get into the Christmas spirit early this year so I can start making my Christmas cards now. This sketch was a perfect one for a holiday card. I used the CuttleBug Snow Embossing Folder for the background and the red rectangle. I also used the CuttleBug Dots Embossing Folder for the oval. The homemade “designer” paper was made using a Martha Stewart Holiday stamp set that I got from Michael’s in March for $.01! It has bout 14 stamps in it. I also used it for the Season’s Greetings. The Holly and Snowflakes are Mini EK Tools punches. I love all of the texture on the card. I think it gives it a nice warm feeling. Thanks for looking!