Sunflower Stamping!

SU! Holiday Mini Catalog Sneak Peek: 'Home for Christmas' stamp set

I'm so very excited to show you a card I've made with one of the new Christmas sets coming out in TWO DAYS when the Holiday Mini Catalog arrives!! It uses the set called 'Home for Christmas', and is an old-fashioned picture stamp with 2 phrase stamps.

 

OK - admittedly, I just threw this card together tonight while watching tv, but I like it!

The picture was painted onto watercolor paper using Aqua Painters. Notice the little red shiny things on the garland? Yeah, I decided to spice up the card a bit by using these tiny little... I'm not even sure what to call them, but I bought them for my Halloween cards. (Remember my heat embossed cards from a few days ago? Well, not only do the vampires have bright, shiny eyes, but now I've added red eyes to the spiders on the insides of the cards!)

Anyway, here's a closeup of the red things.

 

And the stamped inside looks like this: 

Recipe -

Stamp Sets: Home for Christmas *COMING OUT ON OCT 1 IN THE HOLIDAY MINI CATALOG

Ink: Basic Brown, Always Artichoke, Real Red, Close to Cocoa, Basic Greay, Going Grey

Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Real Red, Watercolor Paper

Accessories: Real REd 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals, Paper Piercing Tools, little shiny red things that you buy to iron onto clothing (how's that for a description?!)

Hope you've enjoyed this sneak peek! Stop back by on Wednesday to see the Holiday Mini Catalog on my blog!

Spooktacular Heat-Embossed Halloween Cards

Well, since I've posted Halloween projects all week, I just HAD to post one more to close out the week!

I have a friend in Houston who makes the neatest Halloween cards (which I looked all over for to post  here to show you, but they've vanished into thin air), so I wanted to try to make one for her that she will think is neat! Not sure if I've done so, but here's hoping!

 

I made 3 cards: one Lovely Lilac, one Green Galore, and one Only orange. The front focal piece is clear-embossed onto black cardstock, so it's not real easy to photograph. The edges of the black cardstock were too severe, so I used a sponge dauber to ink them up with Versmark ink and heat embossed them with lear detail embossed powder.

I used some old, some new Halloween sets, but the focal points are from House of Haunts; the greeting is from Tableau of Terror, and the side images are from last season's Best Fiends. The guys in the frame and the greeting are all embossed with black embossing powder. As for the inside...

 

...I colored the trick-or-treaters with re-inkers and aqua painters, but then decided they were too washed out, so I took a Blender Pen and loaded it by holding it to markers and colored over my painting. Oh - and it's on water color paper. The spidey next to them is also heat embossed with black embossing powder.

 

Although it's not nearly as cool as the cards Jeanne makes for Halloween, it IS kinda spooky looking in person! I'll have to work on it a bit more, and also look again for her cards to post for you. I really want to find the one she made that's a creepy, spooky door with a spider web on it, but I can't remember what was inside. Now it's gonna drive me NUTS until I find it! OOH! I already know what I"m going to do to improve it some: I'm going to tear the bottom front of the card, then ink it up with Versamark, and emboss it as well. That'll give it a bit more of a spooky feel, I think.

Later!

Halloween Milk Cartons & a Very Un-Spooky Ghost Candle Using Batty for You, Eat, Drink & Be Scary, Chills & Thrills, & Ghostly Greetings!

...coming soon - I swear! It's just that it's after 1 in the morning, and I've just finished a very time-intensive newsletter! (Are YOU signed up for my enewsletter? Sign up at the left, if not! :-))

OK - here they are!

  This is my friendly little ghost candle. All you need is a candle from the dollar store, a few scraps of black cardstock cut into irregular circles, some mini glue dots to attach them with, and I added the lettering from the new Halloween Stampin' Up! 'Chills & Thrills' rub-ons. He's pretty cute in person - and this picture is deceiving: he's a 6" pillar candle, so he's not tiny! He's actually bigger around and a couple inches taller than the milk cartons. I can't wait to see him burning in the dark on Halloween!

 

And these are my 2 Halloween milk cartons. The first one uses Pumpkin PieCardstock, 'Ghostly Greetings' DSP, Kiwi Kiss grosgrain ribbon, and the cute new set you're getting a SNEAK PEEK of called 'Eat, Drink & Be Scary'. IT IS SO CUTE!!! It will be available this coming Wednesday, October first in the Holiday mini catalog. Besides the tag of the same name shown below, it's got the spider I punched with the 3/4" circle punch. He's got a "web" he's hanging from that I cut off. It's made from the words, "happy fright night to you". Cute! I attached him with the black hemp twine that is very "Halloweenish".

This next one wouldn't stay closed, so I stapled it together and had to disguise the staple, hence the 'Happy Halloween' kitty tab on top! It's got just a strip of the 'Ghostly Greetings' DSP with some Tangerine Tango grosgrain ribbon to top it off. The skull is from the 'Batty for You' stamp set, with a Tangerine Tango scallop as a matte.

Well, I've given you Halloween items all week, and you'll probably get one more for tomorrow, just to round out the week! I think I need a few more cards...

Keep stamping and as always, I hope I've inspired you!

 

More Halloween Projects Using Autumn Harvest, Eat, Drink & Be Scary (SNEAK PEAK!), and Ghostly Greetings DSP, AND THE CUTEST LITTLE MUMMY TREAT BAG EVER!!!

Here are my second Halloween class projects:

 

Cute, huh?! I fell in love with the box-in-bags when I made some with the Bella Rose DSP, so of course I had to make some with 'Ghostly Greetings' DSP. I used the 2 pumpkins from 'Autumn Harvest' a lot because they are just SO CUTE and SO HAPPY! I gave them the witch's hat from 'Eat, Drink & Be Scary' because I think I saw it on someone's website, but I honestly can't remember now. I know I got the green hatband idea from the picture in the mini catalog! Which reminds me: you'll be able to order this and many more CUTE, CUTE, C-U-T-E sets NEXT WEDNESDAY, OCT 1st!!!!

The stamps I used that are from the new set 'Eat, Drink, & Be Scary' include the tag of the same name on the black skull bag, the witch's hat, the tiny little spider whose web says "happy fright night to you", and also the definition of Halloween on the green card. You can't really tell, but the paper on the cards is a black and grey pinstriped Halloween DSP. It's really cool looking. I sponged the pumpkins on the envelopes just as a finishing touch. As you can see, they're wider than the cards. That's because I made the cards 4x4, but you can still use regular envelopes; they're just a bit wider, but work just fine. I was going to cut them down and use  the Ghostly Greetings DSP as lining, but didn't want my class to be too long. :-)

Now let's talk about my FAVORITE: My MUMMY!!!!!

   

Is he the cutest little guy, OR WHAT??!!! He's out on a few websites, but when I went to trace him back to where I originally found him, I couldn't find him again! I'll look more and edit this post to thank his clever creator. All he is, is a few strips of Whisper White cardstock, distressed with the distressing tool, then sponged with Creamy Caramel ink. Did I say how cute I think he is?? Unbelieveably cute. He'd be adorable as a candy treat holder or a notecard holder. Man, I just love him!

OK - gotta get some sleep! Keep stamping, and let me know if you want directions for my MUMMY!

Halloween Projects Using Stampin' Up!'s 'Chills & Thrills' Rub-ons: Spooky Witch's Cauldron, Happy Halloween Mini Flag & Bucket Centerpiece, Coffin Candy Box, & Decorated Picture Frame!

I thought I'd do a class using the cute new Halloween rub-ons, 'Chills & Thrills'. I love the way they turned out!

 

There are only THREE stamps used in these projects: the "Happy Halloween" on top of the mini flag in the bucket, the spider hanging from the handle of the cauldron, and the bat on the front of the mini bucket. The rest are rub-ons and"Ghostly Greetings" Designer Series Paper!

 

The first rub-on I tried was the word "boo", and since I wasn't very practiced, I got a little careless and scraped off the bottom of the b, so I had to improvise, and covered it with a little ghost!

 

I took a mini bucket from Target's Dollar Spot, and covered it in bats. Then I'd gotten these little garden flags at a dollar store, which gave me the idea to make a Halloween "flag" of sorts for a tabletop decoration. I covered a section of cardboard with DSP, stamped the phrase, covered it in a stack of pumpkins, and added a few ribbons. The pumpkins are made from textured  Tangerine Tango cardstock, punched with the circle punch. I sponged the edges of each circle with more Tangerine Tango so they would look like the curves of a real pumpkin, then stuck them together with mini glue dots from behind. Their stems are made with the horizontal slot punch. Their faces are the cute pumpkin faces from the Chills & Thrills Rub-ons. Cute!!

 

This little coffin-shaped candy box is strictly rub-ons. After punching some different colors of cardstock and layering them, then anchoring them with brads, I added the "Danger: keep out" and the other rub-ons.

 

I got this frame at a dollar store and just added some rub-ons. So simple, and doesn't it look neat?

 

...another closeup of the cute little pumpkin flag!

Tomorrow I'll have more Halloween projects for my second Halloween class, including the CUTEST, most adorable mummy treat bag you've ever seen!

Hope I've inspired you! Keep stamping!

Ghostly Greetings DSP, Chills & Thrills Rub-ons, Autumn Harvest, Tableau of Terror, House of Haunts, and Eat, Drink & Be Scary... It'sTime to Prepare for Halloween!

Well, it's FINALLY gotten just a little bit cooler here in Northeast Georgia, so I'm ready to start sharing some of my Halloween creations with you! Here are my first three projects:

This year, I got the CUTEST Halloween stuff from Stampin' Up!. Have you seen the new Chills & Thrills rub-ons? They are so great, and I've been using them on all sorts of things! (which of course, I'll be sharing with you...!) As a matter of fact, the little coffin-shaped candy box is decorated with rub-ons only - no stamping!

 

I used the medium oval punch on Whisper White cardstock, then rubbed on the words "Danger: Keep Out". I framed that in black with the Designer Label Punch, then layered that on Kiwi Kiss cardstock punched from the large oval punch. Before I assembled the box, I rubbed on the cauldron and the xoxo skulls. I put the box together with sticky tape, and wrapped the outside with a piece of black gingham ribbon. Cute!

 

This adorable little card is made with my favorite TEXTURED CARDSTOCK. If you haven't tried it yet, you don't know what you're missing! It really gives a professional appearance to your cards and scrapbooks.

The cute little row of pumpkins and the saying, "The littlest pumpkins have the biggest grins" is another rub-on from Chills & Thrills. The cute Tangerine Tango pumpkin was stamped with the Autumn Harvest stamp set. That set is so versatile. You can use it for Fall cards or make it "cutesy" for Halloween. I think it makes the happiest little pumpkins! His hat is from a new set you have not seen yet!! It is called 'Eat, Drink, & Be Scary', and can be found in the upcoming Holiday mini catalog. It contains 5 stamps, one of which is the cool witch's hat, to which I added the Kiwi Kiss band and gold brad. Adorable!

Last, but not least is my Halloween pop-up card.

 

I consider it a first draft that needs a slight do-over. I originally used the orange DSP with bats as the background, but when it fell over and I saw this side, I thought it looked even better with the gravestones. The spider web is on the paper, and I stamped the haunted house from the 'House of Haunts' set. Funny how it ended up looking like the spider web is coming out of the ghost's head!! lol

I looked everywhere for my tiny alphabet stamps so I could stamp R.I.P. on the headstones, but couldn't find them, so I dipped into last year's retired set, 'Spooktacular Greetings'. I used the grave stamp to add the RIP by inking up only that part of the stamp, and leaving the pumkins uninked. Of course, you can see that the gravestones are made with the large and small tag punches. I sponged them with black ink, then did some direct-to-paper to make them look "creepier". Then, as long as I had the retired set out already, I went ahead and used the ghost to coem floating up from behind one of the grave markers.

The green "grass" in the cemetary is a little too barren for me, but in person, the 'Have a Spooktacular Halloween' shows up well. It's from the 'Tableau of Terror' set. That makes, what - FIVE different Halloween stamp sets, a set of rub-ons, AND some Halloween Designer Series Paper?? I just LOVE having a variety to choose from when I'm creating!! :-)

Here's the beautiful Halloween DSP, Ghostly Greetings. It's on page 172 of the catalog, Item #112463, $9.95. It's a great variety of different Halloween "looks". Love it!

More tomorrow - you can start getting ready for Halloween now that I've given you some inspiration!

Kind Thoughts, Punches Three, and All Scallops Stamp Sets

It seemed like a good time to use my favorite new In-Color, Baja Breeze. I've had nothing but Bella Rose DSP and Halloween colors on the brain - which I love, but it was a good time to break away for a day at least!

 

I earned the Level I hostess set Punches Three about a month ago, and have yet to use it, so that's about when I decided that it HAD to be Baja Breeze. (See, if you look close,you'll see it says "True BLUE Friend"haha.) Then I went looking for something that went with the pattern in the background of the stamp, and I found my old friend, Kind Thoughts. I got to use my new square scallop punch, then mounted it in the middle of the background design with Dimensionals. I used the distressing tool to "scuff up" the edges of the Whisper White cardstock, and sponged the edges. I also used the direct-to-paper technique on the Baja Breeze matte the white cardstock's layered onto.

Once I'd decided on the basic layout and had chosen the wide double-stitched ribbon to go at the bottom, it hit me: SCALLOPS! The card was just screaming for scallops. I love to add white scallops with some sort of punched holes or stamping that makes it look a bit like eyelet lace edging. In this case, I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig with my All Scallops set to add the cute blue designs to the scallops. I also used the Scallop Edge Punch to punch the Baja Breeze cardbase that layers over the white scallops, then pierced them to add more detail.

Recipe -

Stamp Sets:


 
Kind Thoughts, page 124 2008 Fall/Winter Catalog

 

All Scallops, page 126

Punches Three - Level I hostess set

Cardstock: Whisper White, Baja Breeze

Ink: Baja Breeze

Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Square Scallop Punch, Distressing Tool, Paper Piercing Tools, Stamp-a-ma-jig, 1" Baja Breeze Double-Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

Gotta have anything?? Place your order with me by going to www.melinda.stampinup.net and click on 'Order Now' in the upper right corner.

Bella Rose Designer Series Paper

I've got a great card coming for you that uses Bella Rose DSP, and only ONE STAMP! Will post around NOON, so hang on!

OK - so it's a little later than noon. First I had to "touch up" yesterday's post; it's the perfectionist in me. I took my card photos, even cleaned them up a bit in Photoshop, then nearly finished my post, when BOOM (or should I say, "BAM!") - it was GONE. So now I'm back to the beginning.

Here's my Kiwi Kiss/Bella Rose card for today:

 

It's mainly a lot of detailed cutting with paper snips. *I HIGHLY RECOMMEND STAMPIN' UP!'S PAPER SNIPS - THEY ARE THE BEST!!*  

I cut out multiple pieces of the main rose on the Bells Rose DSP in graduating sizes, then just stacked them with Dimensionals. The rest of the pieces were attached with my Xyron because they were so detailed and fragile. 

The 'Thanks' stamp is a retired one (sorry!) that I punched with the Designer Label Punch (my personal fav!) I added a few rose buds and some leaves, and attached them with Dimensionals on top of some Kiwi Kiss Striped Grosgrain Ribbon.

A few brads line the top where there was an empty spot that just needed SOMETHING.

Isn't the Bella Rose paper just beautiful? To order, please go to my Stampin' Up! website, www.melinda.stampinup.net and click on 'Order Now' in the upper right corner.

Bella Rose Designer Series Paper - page 170 Stampin' Up! 2008 Fall/Winter Catalog

 

I hope you're inspired! Sorry for the late post!

*Edited to add: Actually, the word 'Thanks' in this card is from the 'Live Your Dreams' stamp set. It's the stamp used BEHIND the word that's a retired stamp. Just wanted to clarify!

Bella Rose Designer Series Paper & "Mini Beach Bags"

I'm sure you've seen all the mini beach bags floating around on the internet. Well, my September Cards & Gifts Class was a Bella Rose Beach Bag festival! Everybody made two different beach bags with 8 3x3 gift cards to match. That way, they could put 4 cards in each bag and give them away as gifts!

Here are the finished products:

 

Will post more details later today!

Enjoy!

Inspired By Nature Stamp Set

I AM SO LUCKY!! Look at the beautiful card I got in the mail!

 

This gorgeous masterpiece was made with the new set 'Inspired By Nature' using 2 of the new In-Colors, Pacific Point and Kiwi Kiss. I love the way the top layer of white cardstock is inked up with Pacific Point on all the edges. The different shades of color on the flowers is realistic looking, isn't it? (Be sure to click on the photo to see it better!) Love that silver Hodgepodge Hardware, too!

Thank you so much for the beautiful surprise, Tracy! I love it!

More Scallop Punch-ed Flowers!

I'm crashing after taking allergy meds, so I've got to post quickly before I fall asleep!

Here are my attempts at making my own cute cards using different Bella Rose patterns than were used in yesterday's cards, as well as more scallop punched flowers.

 

     

 

Scallop Punch-ed Flowers

Just a quick post tonight because it's late and I'm tired! I CASEd these 2 adorable cards from Patty's Stamping Spot. One of Patty's downline made the cute gingham card, and Patty made the green polka dot card for her convention swap card.  They are each just so doggone cute!!

 

 

Tomorrow I'll show you my attempts at some scallop punch flower cards made with Bella Rose DSP.

True Friend Stamp Set... for the Third Day in a Row :)

OK - this is it for now, I promise! But I swear, I just love this set! I used the Stampin' Up! color selector to pick colors to put with So Saffron and Tangerine Tango, and came up with Mellow Moss and Rose Red. (You can access the color selector by clicking here.) I just happened to have ribbon in each of those colors, so it worked out nicely. Well, actually I didn't have any ribbon in So Saffron, so instead dyeing some to match, I tried my Apricot Appeal, and it was perfect!

I like the bottom half of the card a lot better than the top - the circle stamp is so cool, and stamped in all different colors, it really looks, well, even cooler. You can sort of see in the photo that I dry embossed dots in between the stamped circles, and in the corners of the bottom white strip. Again, I used the 'Rock n' Roll' technique on the image in the upper right corner. I inked up the stamp with So Saffron, then rolled the edges of the stamp in Rose Red & Tangerine Tango. That's why you can't really pinpoint one color that's used; it just kinda looks like a mish-mash of colors.

I hope my last three posts have given you some good ideas for your True Friend stamp set, or that you realize how much you need to add it to your collection! :-)

Tomorrow I've got some CASEd cards & some original cards all made with Scallop punched flowers with DSP centers... too cute! See you then!

Recipe -

Stamp Sets: True Friend

Cardstock: Tangerine Tango, Mellow Moss, So Saffron, Rose Red, Whisper White

Inks: Tangerine Tango, Mellow Moss, So Saffron, Rose Red

Accessories: 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Punches Plus Classy Brass Template

True Friend Stamp Set & New Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper - Haiku

First, let me just say this: I HAVE LOVED THIS STAMP SET SINCE IT FIRST CAME OUT, AND I AM SO HAPPY TO FINALLY HAVE IT IN MY COLLECTION!!!

OK, I feel better now.I don't know what it is about this style, but I am really drawn to the flowers and designs in this set. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I hope you like it too, because you'll be seeing all the cards I made with it this weekend! You've already gotten one out of the way, because I made it in red, white, and blue for Labor Day and posted it yesterday. Even though I'm not a fan of Pacific Point (the blue in yesterday's card), I think it looked good in the card.

On to today's card. My intent with this card was to make some kind of work of art with the Haiku Designer Series Paper. Hopefully, I achieved that. I mean, I like it! :-)

I really like the green and orange papers in this Haiku pack, but I wanted to use Mellow Moss on the card, so I stayed away from those. This card uses a lot of different stuff, from brads to piercing, to ribbon and embossing. For the stamps, I used two different techniques.

To make the words in different colors, I just inked up the stamp in Tangerine Tango, then wiped off the smaller words with a tissue and colored them in with Chocolate Chip marker. For the flower, I used the "Rock n' Roll" technique. First, I stamped the flower in So Saffron - the lighter ink - then rolled the stamp edges along the Tangerine Tango ink pad to get some orange on the flower tips. I also inked up the stem with Mellow Moss, though I honestly can't remember if I used a stamp pad or a marker to do so! Either way works easily since the stem is so long.

Recipe -

Stamp Sets: True Friend

Cardstock: So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Designer Series Paper - Haiku

Inks: So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip, Mellow Moss

Accessories: Brads, Paper Piercing Tools, Chocolate Chip 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, markers, Dots Classy Brass Template (for flower center)

Hope you're inspired!

True Friend in Riding Hood Red & Pacific Point New 2008 In Colors

My message for you today for Labor Day in the US is

And my Labor Day card for you in US red, white, & blue :

Can you see the embossing along the top and bottom edges?

Here's hoping you have great weather for family picnics, barbecues, or whatever you do on Labor Day in the US or any other country in the world!

ps - notice the new Riding Hood Red and Pacific Point blue for the holiday?!