So Many Ways To Say I Love You

I'm using lots of new (or new-to-me) stuff today. The new Ginger Blossom patterned paper from the Stampin' Up! preview catalog is absolutely scrumptious. I love, love, LOVE it!

The sentiments come from the current hostess set So Many Sayings. Until now, it was still unmounted. I was waiting to see if I'd actually use it.

Last, the card base is made from SU's textured paper. The textured paper was one of those items that kept getting dropped from my orders in favor of other things. Not anymore. I'm totally hooked. It adds so much to the card with no extra work. I've always loved the Bazzill paper for its texture. Now I can have texture and my trusty 48-plus colors. Way to go, Stampin' Up!

I stamped the sentiment in Ruby Red craft ink, then cut apart the individual sayings. The fabric flower comes from the Pretties kit. I dyed it using an Aqua Painter and Groovy Guava ink (a drop from the re-inker). I also sponged the edges of all the designer paper pieces for a little extra definition.

If you haven't seen it already, be sure to check out my blog candy in celebration of 10K hits. It's in the previous post. You have until Saturday morning, 9 am EST, to enter.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: So Many Sayings
Paper: Groovy Guava textured, Ruby Red, River Rock, Regal Rose, Ginger Blossom designer paper
Ink: Ruby Red craft ink, groovy guava reinker
Accessories: Groovy Guava double-stitched ribbon, dimensionals, scallop punch, 1 3/8", 1 1/4" and 1/16" circle punches, flower from Pretties kit, aqua painter, three-for-you punch, ruby red brad, sponge daubers

Celebrating 10,000 Hits

Woo-hoo! I've been keeping an eye on my counter recently, waiting to pass that 10,000 mark. Today is the day! THANKS to all of you for visiting, and especially for leaving such kind and thoughtful comments. You have been such an encouragement to me :)

How about some blog candy to celebrate?

* one new, unmounted Holiday Blocks stamp set (this was a Stampin' Up! mini-catalog hostess appreciation set a while back)
* one package of red adornaments fun fibers by EK Success
* shimmer shapes glittered chipboard (3 trees, 2 ornaments) by ScrapWorks
* two velvety, fabric poinsettia flowers (source unknown)

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post (click on the tiny word "comments" down below) and tell me your favorite way to get in the holiday spirit. Is it putting up the tree? Christmas music? Baking cookies? Parties? For me, I think it's setting up my Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" snow village.

You have until Saturday morning (12/15) to enter. I'll do a random drawing at roughly 9 am EST. Feel free to crawl out of the woodwork, even if you've never commented before! Can't wait to hear from you :)

Hi Glitter!

Just a quick little 3x3 for this week's color challenge at SCS. It's an interesting one: Rose Red, Certainly Celery, and ... ready for this? ... Pumpkin Pie! I wouldn't have thought to throw that Pumpkin Pie in there, but wow, what a fun combo this turned out to be!

I was inspired to glitter up the chipboard letters by Kristina Werner's Make-A-Card-Monday video this week. Be sure to check it out! You'll see I went with a short sentiment, only two letters. I'd like to say it's because the card is small. But really? I have a hard time parting with my chipboard letters. You only get one of each letter (per font) in the Stampin' Up package! Lotsa pressure to get it just right. Anyone else tend to hoard theirs?

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Priceless
Paper: Rose Red, Whisper White, Celery designer prints
Ink: Rose Red, White craft ink, Pumpkin Pie craft ink
Accessories: pumpkin polka dot border sticker from the Friends & Flowers Simply Scrappin' Kit (retired); two-way glue; paper piercer; chipboard letters; heat and stick powder; dazzling diamonds glitter
Tip: I like to paint or ink my chipboard in white before inking in the desired color. The final color seems more true that way.

Something Old

Like everyone else in blogland, I've been super busy trying to finish up a bunch of different projects ... Christmas cards, teacher gifts, and a lot of other stuff that's not quite ready to post here.

But I hate not having something new to show you, so here's a recent card from my "not bad enough to trash, but not good enough to post" pile. I can't put my finger on what I don't like/what's missing (I guess if I could, then I could fix it). Part of it is that I'm never quite sure where to start when the paper pattern is so big and bold. Whatever it is, who cares ... in a pinch it'll do for a post! Enjoy :)

I used one of Julee Tilman's Mojo Monday sketches for this one. (She's got a new one up as of yesterday. You have until Sunday evening to enter. Give it a try!)

The background paper is by Autumn Leaves. I found a pack of 20 coordinating papers (4 each of 5 designs, I think) on the clearance rack at my Target for only $2.38. Pretty good deal!

Supplies:
Stamps: Garden Silhouettes
Paper: Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: pink flower jewels by Heidi Swapp

It's A Match!

I picked up this roll of wrapping paper at Target the other day. The colors are a perfect match for Sage Shadow, Soft Sky, Bravo Burgundy, and Very Vanilla, so I was really happy with how well this matching card came out!



I filled in the snowflake-stamped background panels with dots of clear Stickles for a little extra sparkle and dimension. Just got my hands on some Stickles earlier this week while I was out helping Santa fill my stocking ;) Had to play with them, of course! I also popped up the three sage backround panels on dimensionals. It really made a big difference!

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Snow Burst, Riveting, Perfect Presentation (the tiny snowflake that hides under the silver brad and cord in the center of the sentiment, you almost can't see it)
Paper: Very Vanilla, Sage Shadow
Ink: Sage Shadow, Bravo Burgundy, Encore silver metallic
Accessories: ticket corner punch, silver brads, burgundy wide grosgrain, silver grosgrain, silver cord, 1 3/8", 1 1/4", and 1/2" circle punches, dimensionals

Quick Preschool B-Day Card

I usually dread making kids cards, but today I was excited because I just found this adorable little astronaut guy by A Muse half-price at my [not-so-]local stamp store earlier this week. Isn't he darling?

I trimmed out and popped up the astronaut, and then bent his legs and arms a little so it looks like he's walking toward you. The "A" initial on his chest is something I added for personalization. The inside reads, "Happy Birthday. Hope your day is out of this world!"

Supplies (Stampin' Up, unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: astronaut (by A Muse); star wheel, Itty Bitty Backgrounds, Everyday Flexible Phrases
Paper: Night of Navy, Going Gray, Whisper White
Ink: white craft, basic black, going gray, creamy caramel, Encore silver metallic
Accessories: silver brads, dimensionals, aqua painter

Enough Already!

Yes, I'm still playing with the Spiral Bouquet set by Papertrey Ink. It's so fun!

I actually created this for a challenge that My Favorite Things was holding to select their guest designer for January. I really had no intention of entering, but at the last minute, decided it would be fun to try. The challenge was to use an ATC (Artist Trading Card) to create a full-size card. (For information on ATC's, go here.)

After I uploaded my ATC-turned-card, I checked out all the other entries, and let's just say, it's good I looked after I uploaded instead of before, because I probably would have been way too intimidated to put mine up had I seen the other ones first. There are some amazing entries. If my link doesn't work, check them out in the SCS gallery by doing a search on keyword: MFGD01. (That's zero and one on the end.) They're going to have a guest designer each month, so be sure to check it out if you're interested!

I took advantage of the designer paper sale Stampin' Up ran last month, and stocked up on a bunch of new designs. The papers on this card all come from a pack called Le Jardin. Love the colors. On the main image, I inked the flowers and stems, then kissed them with an uninked Canvas background stamp to get the textured look.

Supplies (Stampin' Up except where noted):
Stamps: Spiral Bouquet (by Papertrey Ink), Happy Harmony, Canvas, French Script
Paper: Always Artichoke, Le Jardin designer paper, So Saffron, Brocade Blue, Shimmery White
Inks: Brocade Blue, Always Artichoke, So Saffron
Accessories: French Blue grosgrain ribbon, Artichoke grosgrain, Apricot grosgrain, corner rounder (for scallops), ticket corner punch, photo corner punch, scallop punch, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, dimensionals, vintage brads