A Peek Into My Stamping Room

Stamp your own patterned paper!

Sometimes we get so caught up in all that beautiful patterned paper there is to choose from that we forget that, as stampers, we can make our own.  I know I kinda forgot that but this very neat background stamp from DRS Designs certainly reminded me!

 

This past week the color combo on Splitcoaststampers was to use Old Olive, Bermuda Bay & Pretty in Pink.  Since I had no patterned paper to match that combo, I made my own.   Using the Interlocking Snowflake Background from DRS Designs, I stamped a half sheet of white cardstock.  I stamped the snowflake image many times using Old Olive & Pretty in Pink classic ink pads from Stampin' Up! and Turquoise Chalk Ink pad from Colorbox.  I cut 2 pieces to layer onto the front of my cards!  Adding ribbon, pearls and other embellishments made each card just alittle different.  The sentiment is a new release from DRS Designs called Merry Christmas Arc.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving holiday.  Our family had a wonderful time together.  While we missed my Dad alot, it was a great day filled with family, friends, eating and remembering what we have to be thankful for!  Just what Thanksgiving is all about.  Talk to you soon!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with lots of food, family and love!!  Here is a place card I made for our Thanksgiving table!  It was fun to make and I think everyone will love them!

Hope you have a great day!

1 Sketch = 2 Cards!

Wow!  It's been a busy couple of days!  You see, Cassie earned the Good Citizen of the month and received her award Monday.  Plus I organized and helped Caitlyn's Girl Scout Troop make some snowflake ornaments for a local nursing home Monday after school.  There was glitter everywhere but a good time was had by all!!  LOL

I did have some time to sit down and make a few cards last night.  I have been making samples for DRS Designs.  Today I used the same sketch but made 2 different cards.

 

Don't you just love this little mouse?  I do!  I stamped the Candy Cane Christmas Critter on a Classic Square Nestabilities™ and colored with Copic Markers.  With a little bending, I made the Merry Christmas Arc Sentiment fit into a Classic Ovals Lg Nestabilities™.  Both of these images are new releases from DRS Designs.  I added some buttons, retired SU Christmas paper and ribbon.  Done!!

 

See?  Same sketch.  Matter of fact, I just cut the patterned paper the same size for both cards but they look very different.  I love to make my Christmas cards but absolutely hate making 75+ of the same card!  This is my solution to that problem.  I stamped the Filigree Snowflake onto a Classic Square Lg. Nestabilities™ using Baja Breeze ink pad.  I added the square brad and used some 3d Foam Squares to pop it up on the card.  The sentiment is from the Christmas Words Card Edger.  I inked up the words with a marker and omitted the parts I didn't want.  Then I stamped it right onto the patterned paper.

Today will be the only day I get to work in my stamp room all day with no children home.  The kids are off school for the Thanksgiving holiday starting Wednesday morning!  I will be making some Thanksgiving place settings tomorrow and will share with you when I get them done!  Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

CPS143 Challenge Sponsored by DRS Designs!

This week, DRS Designs is sponsoring the Card Positioning Systems Sketch Challenge #143.  The sketch is very cool!!  I decided to do a card and a gift box.  Here are my projects.

 

This card is a 5 1/4 x 5 1/4" square card.  Using my brayer, I ran some color over my glossy paper.  I used the Night of Navy & Bashful Blue ink pads.  Then I stamped the Fir Tree (L236) using Versamark, added some White Detailed Embossing powder and heat set.  The I cut my panel into 4 pieces, mounted it onto a piece of silver cardstock.  I learned this technique, Faux Window, on StampTV this week!!  The white panel behind my trees was embossed with Snowflake Impressabilities™.  I stamped the Merry Christmas using Night of Navy ink pad and cut/embossed using a Circle Nestabilities™.  I mounted a Scalloped Circle Nestabilities™ behind the sentiment, added some ribbon and put everything together!!

For a cute gift box, I used a My Timeless Template from Papertrey ink.  The template is called It's On The House.  I love it!

 

I first stamped the Swirling Snowflake image in Versamark and then added some Glittering Embossing Powder and heat set.  Then I embossed the Large Filigree and Small Filigree Snowflakes using the same embossing powder and cut them out.  I put them together using some 3d Foam Squares and added a rhinestone sticker in the middle.  I stamped the Merry Christmas sentiment using Merlot Chalk Ink from Colorbox.  I cut/embossed the sentiment using the Classic Circle Nestabilities™ and added the scalloped circle behind it.

As you can see, the CPS Sketch for this week is very versatile!  Hope you will give it and try.  You can win some really great stuff from DRS Designs!!

Be the Star!

*** I am editing this post to add a link to the Spellbinders Blog!  Announcement of a Black Friday give-away!  Better check it out!***

 Here is a card I made last week for the son of a special friend of mine.  Its a combo Happy Birthday and encouragement card.  I used a stamp set from Verve Stamps called Starstruck.  Using some Aqua Mist cardstock and the Rich Cocoa Memento Ink pad, I stamped my own background paper.  Then I cut a Labels 7 Nestabilities™.  When it was time to emboss, I added the Diamonds and Stars Impressabilities™ and embossed the patterned onto my Labels 7 die cut.  You can just barely see it but in real life, it really adds that extra something!

I have one more card to share with you today using the same embossing technique but on Foil instead of cardstock.

 

Using some Heavy Duty foil adhered to cardstock, I cut a Labels 4 Nestabilities™ and then added the Snowflake Impressabilities™ to my sandwich.

The sandwich I used in the Wizard is:

White Master Mat

Snowflake Impressabilities™

Labels 4 die with foil covered cardstock inside

Tan Embossing Mat

White Master Mat

Feed this sandwich thru your Wizard™ and you have a very beautiful detail for your card!  The sentiment stamp is from DRS Designs called A Holiday Wish to Bring You cheer greeting.  I stamped the sentiment using Baja Breeze ink pad onto white cardstock and then cut/embossed using the Labels 4 Nestabilities™.  I like to stamp first when using my dies.  I think its easier to get the stamped image in just the right place!  The base of my card is some Bazzill cardstock.  The patterned paper is from Basic Grey - Figging Pudding Collection.  I used the Bow Easy to tie that little bow!

I hope these two cards will inspire you to try embossing in a different way!  Hope you have a great Friday!!

How about a Thanksgiving card?

Do you send Thanksgiving cards?  I usually don't but when I received some new images from DRS Designs last week, I have been kinda tempted!  Too bad I probably don't have the time.  But I did make this card using the new releases - Happy Harvest Cutie Pie Boy and Girl.

 

The first thing I did for this card was to use my Floral and Stone Impressabilities™ on the Chocolate Chip background.  Then I cut/embossed some Old Olive cardstock using the Harvest Border Petites.  I stamped the Leaf Giga Circle using Rich Cocoa Memento Ink pad and cut/embossed using the Classic Circles Nestabilities™.  I stamped those little cutie pies and colored them in with Copic Markers.  The sentiment Thanksgiving Thinking of You is stamped using Pumpkin Pie ink pad.

I also made a Christmas card for the blog post on DRS Designs blog today.  Please go check it out!!  I have more to share with you on the DRS blog plus I have stuff to share tomorrow.

Espress-oly Wonderful!

My hubby came home this morning asking me to make a birthday card for a lady that he works with.  Its kinda funny because when I was growing up, this lady and her family lived right next door to me and my family!  Helen takes care of the coffee fund for the guys at the plant making sure there is coffee to drink, cups and all the extras!  So I thought these images would work great!  The image is from DRS Designs called Coffee Trio.  The sentiment is also from DRS Designs and its called Espress-oly Wonderful.  I used some October Afternoon patterned paper and paired it with Dark Chocolate and Aqua Mist from Papertrey Ink.  The bottom edging is from Spellbinder™ Scallop Edge Frameabilities™.  I cut/embossed using the Classic Squares Lg Nestabilties™.  The coffee cup image is stamped onto a Petite Oval Lg. and matted behind is the Petite Scalloped Ovals Lg.  I paper pieced the cups and added some stickles to the coffee!  I stamped the sentiment onto a tag cut/embossed from Ribbon Tag Trio 2.  The ribbon is Aqua Mist Grosgrain from Papertrey Ink.

I think Helen will really like this card.  I made it 5 1/4" x 5 1/4" square so there would be plenty of room for all the guys at the plant to sign it.

Hope you are having a great week!

Glimmering Color Challenge

On Tuesday, the challenge on Splitcoast is the Color Combo Challenge.  This week, the combo is:  Kraft, Vanilla and Bravo Burgundy.  Well, much to my surprise, I didn't have any Bravo Burgundy so I substituted Scarlet Jewel from Papertrey Ink.  I also had fun using some new stuff that Sparkle N Sprinkle was nice enough to send the Spellbinders Design Team.  The glitter is fantastic! 

 

I stamped the Large Filigree Snowflake image from DRS Designs using Versamark.  Then I used Heat and Stick powder, heat set it and then added my glitter - then heat set again.  I love to use Heat and Stick powder with glitter because it keeps the glitter on so well.  No glitter floating around in the envelope!  I stamped the Glittering/Twinkling Christmas Greeting using Merlot Chalk Ink from Colorbox.  After it dried, I cut/embossed using the Petite Ovals Lg and then layered it onto a Petite Scalloped Oval Lg.  I am almost out of that beautiful satin ribbon from Stampin' Up!  Its retired so I will have to look around for something similar!!  I don't really think you need the ribbon, though.  Without the ribbon, this would be a great card to mail!  Hope you are having a great week!  Things are pretty good here.  Just busy with everyday stuff!  Talk to you tomorrow!

Petite Ovals vs. Classic Ovals?

I have received alot of questions about the difference between Spellbinders™ Nestabilities™ -  Petite Ovals and Classic Ovals.

Here is a picture of them side by side:

On the left is the Classic & Scalloped Ovals Lg.  On the right is the Classic and Scalloped Petite Ovals Lg.  Its easy to see the difference when they are side by side.  As you can see the Classic & Scalloped Ovals Lg. are more of a rounded oval.  The Classic and scalloped Petite Ovals Lg. are long and skinny. 

Hope this answered your question about the Classic Ovals and the Petite Ovals!

Stay tuned for a tutorial on Foil Embossing!

2 Sketches 4 You!

This week, DRS Designs is sponsoring the challenge blog, 2 Sketches 4 You!  How fun is that?  2S4Y is run by my friend and fellow Spellbinders Design Team member, Kazan Clark and her friend Laura Davis.  Its a fun sketch this week and I challenge you to participate!  You could win some really great DRS Designs stuff!  Free stuff is always good!

I made 2 cards for this sketch challenge:

 

This card uses the Large Script Merry Christmas stamp embossed in Gold embossing powder.  After I embossed the sentiment, I cut/embossed it using the Labels 4 Nestabilities.  The background I stamped and colored in the Triple Holly stamp using my Copic Markers.  I tied some ribbon around the sentiment die and I was done.  It was a quick card to make!!

I hope my second card makes you laugh!

 

Funny, huh?!!  I love that sentiment!  Its a new release from DRS this week!  I stamped the Santa Hat image all over my card base and colored it in.  Then I stamped the Santa In Your Stockings sentiment, cut/embossed it using the Curved Rectangles Nestabilities and mounted it onto a red Curved Rectangles Nestabilities.  I stamped, color and cut out the little santa hat and add some Crystal Stickles on the fur part! 

I hope this sketch will inspire you to participate this week!  Get busy and win a $15 gift certificate from DRS Designs!