Halloween Treat!

My son had his first Halloween party today at preschool!  He was terribly excited and dressed up as a giraffe....so cute!  I tried to convince him to be a horse because his little sister is dressed as a cowgirl but he didn't bite : )

He was allowed to bring treats to school so we had fun using Stampin' Up's cookie stamps to make sugar cookies for his classmates. 

I put them in 4 x6 cello bags and used the Top Note die to create little "toppers" for the bags in Pumpkin Pie and Basic Black.  Then a stamped an owl from the Owl Occasions stamp set in Pumpkin Pie and Basic Grey ink.  I was really pleased with the result and for a moment felt like a "super mom"....Stampin' Up product is so easy to use and coordinates so well that it makes it pretty simple to make something cute!

Happy Halloween!

Congratulations on MDS

My friend, and downline, AP, received a promotion today and I'm really excited for her!  I wanted to send her a congratulations card immediately and so  I turned to my My Digital Studio (MDS) program to create a card for her.  I've been using the program a lot more lately and I'm having fun with the FREE downloads that are available this week.  I used one of them, "A Split Second", to create her card for her.

Isn't it great!  The background paper, tag and zigzag are from the kit and I used Kiwi Kiss (remember that colour!) polka dots to add another layer.  I'm discovering, quickly, how many things I can do with MDS....including creating Christmas cards for my parents!  My husband has been working on a scrapbook using MDS too!  It's great!  I especially love how many Stampin' Up stamp sets and papers the program comes with.

You can receive a FREE trial of MDS 2 simply by clicking on the "My Digital Studio" tag on the sidebar or by going to my Stampin' Up website.  You'll also find this week's FREE downloads there as well get 50% off of Digital Scrapbooking Kits this week!  So great!

Happy Stamping!

Fancy Friends kit

I hope no one blows away tonight!  It certainly is blustery here already in this corner of Ontario....and Sandy has hardly arrived.  After stocking up on some groceries I've hunkered down for the night to create some goodies for my son's preschool Hallowe'en party tomorrow.  But before we get to that I've got a great new item from Stampin' Up! to share with you. 

The "Fancy Friends" kit!!!!  I think it would make a great gift for a person in your life who is new to stamping but enjoys sending handmade, personalised notes.  The great things about these kits is that ANYONE can use them and make beautiful cards.

Isn't it pretty!?  I'm certainly going to invest in this!

Here are the details:

Get everything you need to make six cards for only $17.95 (item 132319)! If six isn't enough, add Note Cards to your order (item 107311)-we've already included extra rhinestones in the Fancy Friends kit.

To assemble the cards:

1. Stamp the doily image in Daffodil Delight or Old Olive ink three times on the card and once on the envelope, re-inking between uses.
2. Stamp "Friends" in Daffodil Delight or Old Olive ink on the front of the card.
3. Adhere the flowers to the card. Adhere Rhinestone Basic Jewels to the centre of the flowers.

To purchase this kit, simply click on the "Shop 24/7" icon on the sidebar or contact me directly.

Happy Stamping!

Blooming with Kindness Stamp Sale

Here's a card that I did a few weeks ago when planning a technique's class.  We were working on masking and I created a bouquet of mums using the flower from the "Blooming With Kindness" stamp set.

The stamp really is so pretty!  The whole stamp set is great actually!  You can now purchase just this flower stamp as an individual stamp!  Stampin' Up has made a number of stamps from sets available for purchase individually as well as some never before seen stamps.  Click here or on the 24/7 icon on the side to see what's available.

And, if single stamps wasn't exciting enough you can purchase them as well as all of Stampin' Up's stamp sets, background stamps and personalised stamps for 15% OFF on Monday, October 29th!!!!  What a great deal!

Happy Stamping!

Pretty Poinsettia and Big Stamp News

Here's a card I made for a fellow demonstrator to thank her for letting me borrow her "Watercolour Winter" stamp set.

I literally put it together in a minute from some scraps I had on my desk and an image that I had been experimenting with.  I embossed the Lucky Limeade strip using the Delicate Design TIEF.  Here's a close-up of the poinsettia:

I love the Watercolour Winter set partly because it is a 2-step stamping set.  I stamped the poinsettia in Real Red ink first and then took the "outline" stamp and sponged it with Frost White Shimmer paint to give it a little sparkle.  I like how understated it is.....it's actually more overstated in the photo than in "real" life.

If you love this stamp set you can get it for 15% off on Monday, October 29th!  That's right....ALL  Stampin' Up Stamps are 15% off on Monday.  You can place your order online by clicking the "Shop 24/7" link on the side bar or by contacting me directly.

Stampin' Up has recently released a number of SINGLE stamps for already great prices and these too will be 15% off.  Just place your order on Monday to get a great deal!

Owl Occasions For You

I'm really behind in my blog postings!  It's just been one of those week's where I hardly get a chance to sit down let alone to any blogging.  So, I'll keep this short and sweet tonight.   This is a card that I made a couple of month's ago for my brother and his wife to go with a housewarming gift.

 Isn't it cute?!  I purchased Stampin' Up's "Owl Occasions" stamp set on a whim but I have to say, I'm really glad I did.  It's so much fun to play with and offers a lot of possibilities.....just wait until I use it for Christmas!

Here are the details of the supplies I used:

Stamp Sets:  Owl Occasions, Itty Bitty Banners

Paper:  Lucky Limeade, Early Espresso, Whisper White and International Bazaar DSP

Ink:  Early Espresso, Rich Razzleberry, Marina Mist, Lucky Limeade

Accessories: Bitty Banners Framelits

Happy Stamping!

New Clearance Items and Blog Candy Winner

A quick post to let you know about some great new deals to be found on Stampin' Up's clearance rack.  Some favourites like Naturals Ivory envelopes, the old "mat pack", Simply Scrappin' kits, lots of ribbon and many more items can be found at deep discounts.  Check it out on my demonstrator website http://lauragardiner.stampinup.net .  You can place your order online or directly through me.

And....drum roll please....the winner of my very first blog candy giveaway is.....

CARLY!!!!

 

Thank you to everyone who became a follower of my blog this week.  I really appreciate the support!  I hope you continue to follow me and tell your friends about Idlewood Cards.

I used random.org to randomly generate a winner for this giveaway.  Congratulations to Carly!  I will be in touch with you to arrange to get your blog candy out to you.

 

Stay tuned for more cards soon.

 

Happy Stamping!

Pile of Leaves

My son went on his first field trip today!  It was all very exciting.  His preschool class went to a local Heritage Farm to learn a little bit about farming and livestock today.  He LOVES tractors and was so excited this morning!!!  He had a great time and we both learnt a lot!

While the day started off cold and rainy (not great for an outdoor field trip) it ended up as a gorgeous sunny fall day.  When I was creating this card for my Technique Tuesday class I was thinking about jumping in leaf piles on a clear, autumn day.  We worked on the "masking" technique last night which is a great technique for making a leaf pile : )

Create a leaf "pile" using the masking technique

In a previous class a couple of us were talking about the colour combination in Stampin' Up's Orchard Harvest DSP....Raspberry Ripple, Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade and Early Espresso.  Those colours seem an unlikely combination but really do work together.  My friend mentioned that the Island Indigo is like a clear blue sky on a fall day....so I went all "artsy" and captured a fun afternoon of raking and then jumping in leaves on this card.  Have I mentioned how much I love fall?!

The layout comes from a sketch that I saw on Sketch Frenzy Friday last week.  It's so simple and lends itself to so many options.  Be sure to check out all of the other cards created with this sketch by clicking here.

For the sentiment I turned to my trusty "Teeny Tiny Wishes" set and used the Bitty Banners framelits dies to "frame" it.  The card was missing something so I pierced the perimeter of it using my new Paper Piercing Essentials Pack.  It's SO much better than the old one that Stampin' Up used to offer because this one actually has a set of holes that goes down the entire long side of the card!

BLOG CANDY ALERT!

If you haven't already, become a follower of my blog by noon (EDT) on Friday, October 19th and you will be eligible to win some blog candy.  Click here to see what you could win.

Happy Stamping!

Freshly Made Ornaments

I've recently started following the Freshly Made Sketches blog.  This challenge blog is SO my style; clean lines, simple designs; I really like it.   Though I've been following it I have not had a chance to enter a challenge yet.   Last night, in another late night stamping session (and yes, "Jesus Freak" was playing in the background again) I created a card using this week's sketch.

Here's the inspiration:



Be sure to check out all of the samples this week!!

Here is my card:

For this card I turned to some new product again, mostly from Stampin' Up's Holiday Catalogue as well as some "old" favourites.  It's been a while since I've used Baja Breeze and it was nice to use it again on this card.  The colour combination in the Snow Festival DSP pack is so great!!!  I used Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green and Baja Breeze for this card.

I had fun with my Ornaments Keepsakes stamp set and Framelits die in combination with the Festive Paper Piercing pack.  Yet again, Stampin' Up has done a great job of creating coordinating products that are just so hard to resist!!  Contact me to learn how you can get the Festive Paper-Piercing Pack for FREE!!!!

Delicate Designs Textured Embossing folder and Festive Paper-Piercing close-ups

 

It's hard to see but for the white strip I used the Delicate Designs Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  Believe it or not, I've had this folder since June and this is the first time I've used it!  I love it for holiday cards.

 

I stamped the inside with a smaller ornament stamp....it couldn't be just one colour though : )  I realised after I had finished the card that I had neglected to use a sentiment but in the end I really like how the front turned out and I didn't want to clutter it up with a sentiment. 

On another note, just before I started this blog entry my husband came in from outside saying "Quick!! 4 turkeys are walking in between the houses!"  He and my son followed them around the house into the backyard and here is one of the photos I snapped:

Mmm....turkey

These four, a mother and 3 young ones, have been a fixture in our neighbourhood since the spring.  We have not seen them IN our yard until today (apparently they were around yesterday too).  I'm glad they didn't get eaten for Thanksgiving last week : )   For the past 3 hours or so they've just been hanging around in one of our neighbour's yards....even a rambunctious little dog didn't scare them away!

 

Finally, if you haven't already, become a follower of my blog by next Friday, October 19th and you will be eligible to win some blog candy!!!!  Click here to see what you could win.

 

Happy Stamping!

TSOT 87 and BLOG CANDY!

Wow!  I've made it to my 100th post! 

I have to admit, I've struggled over the past week to find the energy in the evening to sit down and actually create.  I've got TONS of ideas floating around in my brain but when 8:00 comes around and the kids are in bed, the dishes are done, the shopping's done and I've got some time to myself it's often hard to find the motivation I need.  Well, I've been promising "blog candy" when I got to my 100th post and I'm not going to delay it any longer.

But first,  I must share my inspiration.  Yet again, the ladies at Try Stamping on Tuesday had a great sketch to work from.  I shut the door to my office and put on my favourite CD...surprisingly, it's not Bach, but "Jesus Freak" by DC Talk  (Bach is too distracting....I just have to stop everything to listen...lol).   Here's the sketch followed by what I came up with:

 

 

Watercolour Winter holly berries

 I had fun playing with this sketch with my music blaring in the background.  I must have been quite a sight....sitting cross-legged on my piano bench, grooving and singing along to the music.  It was fun!

I borrowed the Watercolour Winter stamp set from a fellow demo and had A LOT of fun with it last night.  I may have to get my own set.  There are so many possibilities with it.  I'm working on cards that use "masking" right now for my Technique Tuesday class and this set it perfect for that. 

I used some great new product on this card too....all from Stampin' Up's Holiday catalogue.  The Core'dinations card stock is really fun to work with.  I paired it here with the "Lacy Brocade" textured impressions embossing folder and "Candlelight Christmas" Speciality Designer Series Paper. 

The sentiment is from "Teeny Tiny Wishes".  Can't say I'm a huge fan of the font for this card, however my selection of Christmas sentiments is a little slim right now.  Here's a close up;

And now, on to the blog candy.  All you need to do to be eligible to win this blog candy is to become a "follower" of my blog by Friday, October 19th at 12:00 noon (Eastern).  I'll have a random draw and then post the winner that evening.  Here's what you'll be getting;

Blog Candy!!!!!

 

Happy Stamping!

Butterfly Thank You

The card I'm sharing with you tonight is one that I CASE'd from an issue of Stampin' Success (Stampin' Up's demonstrator magazine).  I really liked the colour combination and the simplicity of this card.  I did this card at my September Make and Take and it was very easy.

I used the Simply Scored tool to create a little more interest in the top right corner.  The Simply Scored tool is a great way to add a little "embossing" without having the Big Shot.

The Papillion Potpourri set is so pretty and the coordinating punch is just great!

Here are the rest of the details:

Stamp Sets:  Papillion Potpourri, Itty Bitty Banners

Ink and Paper:  Pool Party, Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Whisper White

Accessories:  Simply Scored tool, Delicate Doilies Sizzix die, Bitty Banners Framelits, Elegant Butterfly Punch, Pool Party Baker's Twine, 1' Circle Punch

Stayed tuned for my 100th post and Blog Candy!  Become a follower of my blog to be eligible.

Happy Stamping!