A Sneak Peek and a Challenge

This post offers two things in one. A sneak peek at products from the new Holiday catalog and an entry for the Friday Mashup Challenge.

Project Details
Stamps	Christmas Collectibles
Card Stock & Papers	Winter Frost Designer Series Paper, Brushed Silve and Bermuda Bay cs
Ink	Bermuda Bay
Accessories	Silver 1/8" Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensional
Tools	Christmas Ornament Punch

Sketch Challenge!

Hey everybody! I saw this sketch challenge at Pals Paper Arts, and decided to play along. Here's another peek at the beautiful designer series paper that you will be able to order in the new Holiday Catalog on August 1st.

Project Details
Stamps	Christmas Collectibles
Card Stock & Papers	Winter Frost dsp and Island Indigo, Coastal Cabana, Whisper White and Brushed Silver cs
Ink	Island Indigo
Accessories	Stampin' Dimensionals
Tools	Christmas Ornament Punch, 1 3/4" Circle Punch

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #95

This is my entry for the challenge at Freshly Made Sketches. I'm using the new Winter Frost designer series paper that will be available in the Holiday Catalog on August 1. Isn't it gorgeous? There are some beautiful silver snowflakes with a rhinestone in the center that would be perfect for this card. I'm putting them in my next order:)

Project Details
Stamps	Scandinavian Season (retired Stampin' Up!)
Card Stock & Papers	Smokey Slate, Island Indigo, Pool Party, Brushed Silver cs and Winter Frost DSP
Ink	Silver Encore Metallic
Accessories	Snowflake brad from my stash
Tools

Gift Packaging Galore

I love to create things!! When it came time to package some gifts I could not just put them in plain ole' commercial bags or boxes. You know how much I love the Build a Bird punch and have made scads of various species of birdys right? Well this bag caught my eye the minute I saw it.  My friend Pam loves birds. I made Joanne's bag from her tutorial: http://joanne-mainlyflowers.blogspot.com/2011/12/little-bird-gift-bag-tutorial.html  I made three or four of these, then I decided that I could devise my own custom packaging too. I began my construction journey with the birdhouse. I couldn't put the gift in a box made of cardstock as it was too heavy, so I found a nice sturdy box and built the birdhouse around it. There's plenty of tissue paper for insulation, and it's landscaped with various vines. I selected choice faux wood grain for the roof, and chose cellulose siding. While I did not select Tyvek as a moisture barrier, the resident cardinal will be quite comfortable with a waterproof adhesive  made from: oils, resins, and rubber. Since we live on the coast, reinforcement was needed on the roof in the form of velcro, just in case a hurricane pays us a visit, the little birdy will remain quite dry.

Next, I devised a simple bag-a-box for a gift for my friend Deborah who loves owls. I saw a picture of an owl somewhere and recreated it as best I could from memory and the punches and diecuts that I have on hand.

Last, but certainly not least, is a pair of Santa's overalls repurposed as gift bags.  Again I remember seeing overalls on the internet somewhere and began by drawing them on a sheet of paper. I determined what size container I needed for each gift and then constructed the base first. I made tabs as you find on any box. Then, I adjusted the size of the overalls needed to fit in that box/bag bottom. I cut out two overalls for each bag, one in white and a slightly smaller one in red to give a layered look and more stability for the bag/box. I spilled glue so the holly is covering up my goof on one bag while another set of holly disguises a cutting mistake on the other.  I wanted to minimize the look of the seams on the sides, so I just punched out some Christmas greetings. Oh! the belt buckle!!  I don't have a buckle die or punch, so I used the curly label punch and new mini curly label inside it. I think it made a pretty good buckle don't you?

Now, my friend Rachael loves dogs and then Barb is a Clemson fan who also loves flowers, and Suzy loves jewelry & cake decorating...

I'm off to do more Christmas shopping and stop by the DMV. Then home to bake Mom's Date Nut Bread. It is simply to die for!!  Have a great day!!

Color Me Beautiful Challenge

Come join us at Color Me Beautiful Challenge!! 

This week's color palette

 My offering

Sending Comfort Challenge

For this challenge at Impression Obsession, I chose Peach Blossom F12006. I experimented again by stamping in brown and coloring more softly. I wanted to have a delicate rendering... then I saw these pretty cardstock colors while looking in my files and I thought some brightness would be cheerful if sending comfort. The green is Certainly Celery from Stampin' Up while the pink is from Paper Studio. I used the Cuttlebug 'Script' embossing folder, sponged the background with Distress inks and colored the image with Prismacolors. The sentiment is computer generated and cut out with Spellbinders' Labels Eight. Visit the Impression Obsession Blog to see all the other beautiful entries and what the Design Team has created.

Timeless Tuesday Challenge

This is my entry for the challenge at Flourishes. "The challenge is “Alphabet Letter” -  Pick one alphabet letter and use at least three supplies/elements that start with the letter of your choice. For example, if you choose “B” for your alphabet letter, make your creation with “B”rads, “B”uttons, “B”ow, color “B”lue, designer papers by “B”asic Grey and so on."

My Alphabet Letter is F. French Poetry, Flower and Frame.

The poppy stamp is from Flourishes, the set is called 'Poppy Patch' SS037. The French poetry script is from Hero Arts. The cardstock is from Stampin' Up and the colors are,  Baha Breeze and Certainly Celery, while the orange for the frame is from Paper Studio. The sentiment is on a Spellbinders' grommet tag, and the embossing folder is Swiss Dots from Cuttlebug. I stamped both images with Mementos tuxedo black, used distressed inks on the background and colored the flower with Prismacolor pencils.

Flower Power Challenge

For the Challenge at Impression Obsession I had an idea in my head and as is often the case everything went in several directions. First, the entry is shown below. It's not the original idea I had in my head. The stamps used were Art of God C5055 and Peach Blossom F12006. The paper is from Stampin' Up; Rose Red and Baja Breeze. The border punch is Martha Steward, the ribbon is from my stash. I stamped the peach blossom in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Prismacolor pencils. I used Distress Inks around the edges of both images and in the background of the sentiment as well as the verse itself.

This is my favorite and my entry for the challenge.

Below are various versions of the original idea that was 'stuck in my head.'

I liked this but the white seemed funny somehow...

So, I added blue. eh

I liked this one, but I also had another idea, which turned out better I think. It's the challenge entry shown first.

Shoes, Purses, a Pickup Truck and a Pokey Tool

The blogging group I belong to has a challenge to create a 3D purse and shoe. I made the green purse on the left for my sister-in-law. I used the directions on Frenchie's video.  My friend Pam, made the purse on the right, isn't it cute? It's made with a new diecut from Stampin' Up. It was full of chocolate:) 

Yeah, I know these aren't really 3D shoes, but I'm a Carolina girl, and we wear flip flops!

See, there's even room for chocolate:)

I LOVE my new mat pack and pokey tool. Yes, I know everyone else calls it a piercing tool, but I don't do paper piercing, I poke things with it. So, it's a pokey tool. See, on the top part of the purse? I wanted to create little faux stitching. You just line up what size holes you want on the template, and poke! Then you use a pen to create the 'stitches.'  I also used the template to line up where the holes should be for the brads on the handles, and of course the pokey tool made the holes. It's also good to remove the red strips from red-liner double-stick tape. I just love this little gadget.

This is a gift for my Sister-in-Law. I made her a portfolio full of cards, the purse and shoe, some chocolate covered Carolina pecans, and some other girly stuff like lavender soap, etc. Then, I placed all the stuff in the middle of some pretty pink tulle and wrapped it up. I just love tulle!! It's so elegant, and very inexpensive. I keep a few colors around for things like this. The pretty ribbon was recycled from a bouquet of flowers. You know, not everyone is lucky enough to have a sister-in-law that they really love. I am lucky enough to have a couple of them:) This one is visiting her son who lives nearby. So, when we go to see her tomorrow, I'll give her some love and some presents. Just for fun, and cause I love her.

I made another pick-em-up truck with my Stampin' Up set. Colored it with Prismas of course, used decorative paper that looks like wood, and the leather looking paper.... that is wall paper. The burlap gives a rustic feel I think. This card will be for my brother-in-law's birthday. He LOVES cars.

Flourishes' Timeless Tuesday Challenge

I love Flourishes stamps. Next on my list is the set with peaches! But then there is the new magnolia set, I just gotta have that one! I love these flowers and the hummer is such a sweet little guy. For the Timeless Tuesday Challenge, I put this together.

Impression Obsession Challenge

This is my card for the "Spring is in the Air" challenge at Impression Obsession. I recently bought this peach blossom stamp (F12006) cause I'm a Carolina Girl and we LOVE peaches! Oh, just for the record, South Carolina produces more peaches than any state in the country except California. Georgia may be the peach state, but WE grow more peaches! yum!!

Oh, have y'all checked out the new online store at Impression Obsession?  They now have samples linked to many stamp images so you can see how they 'stamp up.' It's a beautiful new website, one that I certainly plan on visiting often.

The embossing folder is Paper Studio, the cardstock is from open stock at Hobby Lobby as is the ribbon.

True Blue Challenge

 This is for the True Blue challenge at Impression Obsession.
I used one of my new stamps, Ocean Butterfly H2321, for this card. It is colored with Prismacolor pencils, and the shells are from my stash. I live close to coast so collect a lot of shells.

 This is also from Impression Obsession. The Masters golf tournament is held near my home too so this will be very popular in our area.

This next project is a holder for cards. Of course I have only made one card for it so far. I got distracted and began other projects.

 A friend of mine who is a Stampin' Up demo shared the directions for this with me. Thanks Pam!! You can see them here.

close-up of the card inside

Timeless Tuesday Challenge From Florishes

Here is my entry for the challenge. I used a poppy from the Poppy Patch stamp set. The lacy look border is a Nestibility called Fleur De Lis Squares from Spellbinders. I colored the poppy with Prismacolor pencils.
Florishes' Timeless Tuesday Challenge.

Layout Challenge

This challenge was issued by Oriental Stamp Art forum.

layout challenge 137. This was fun, I'm going to do more of these!