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!

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Happy Stamping!

Falling Leaves

Aah, autumn.  I love fall!  Well, I love all the seasons in their own way but I do have a particular fondness for fall.  I really enjoy going for long walks through the woods and crunching through leaves.  One of my fondest memories was walking home from university through the woods along Medway creek in London.  It was a gorgeous walk and my then friend (now husband) and I enjoyed many walks home from school on fall days.  That seems like a long time ago now.

In tribute to the fall colours I pulled out my trusty "Day of Gratitude" set to create this next card.  This is another one that I did for my Make and Take this week (we do four cards at each Make and Take) and again, I wanted it to be simple and accessible for anyone.

Isnt' it pretty?!  I simply stamped the leaves randomly in 4 colours that remind me of fall; More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler and Lucky Limeade.  Pretty soon the leaves will be brilliant and it will be Thanksgiving here in my part of the world.   I think this will be a perfect card to give to my mom to thank her for the yummy dinner she will be making : )

I stamped the sentiment in Early Espresso and then punched it out using my Decorative Label punch.  Then I used my cool new "Stampin' Pierce Mat" to pierce the holes around the sentiment.  Stampin' Up! really does think of everything!  Check out the new piercing mats on p.181 of the main catalogue and the holiday one on p. 30 of the Holiday catalogue.

I'm working on another card with a similar theme for my upcoming Techniques class (there is still room in it....contact me for details)....so stay tuned for a variation on a theme.

Happy Stamping!

Medallion for the Monkeys

Well, here I am again, entering a Monkey Challenge at the very last minute.  I think what happens is I get all inspired by the weekly sketch and then think about it rather than actually doing something about it.  Story of my life : )  In this case, however, I am really glad I waited because I was also really inspired by a friend's card that I saw on Tuesday evening.  In fact, I basically copied her idea and added a couple of elements to fit the sketch.  So thanks, DF, for the great idea!

Here's the sketch from A la Card Monkey:

Here is my version:




Spice Cake Medallion

I just love the medallion in the centre of big medallion.  I decided to go back to my Spice Cake DSP tonight for 2 reasons: 1.  I promised my faithful friends that I wouldn't do all Christmas cards at my Make and Take next week and 2. While I'm sad to see it go, I have to move on to the new and exciting product coming out in the new Occasions Mini in January and my crafting space can't take too many more "left overs". 

Here's a close-up of the medallion which, by the way, are super easy to make using the Simply Scored tool!

Medallion close-up

So pretty, if I do say so myself.  I finished it off with a Vintage Brad.  Here are the particulars:

Papers:  Pear Pizazz, Soft Suede and Very Vanilla card stock, Spice Cake Designer Series Paper
Stamp Sets: Day of Gratitude, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink:  Pear Pizazz and Soft Suede
Ribbon and Embellishments:  Chantilly Lace, Spice Cake Fabric, Neutrals Brad, Vintage Brads
Tools: Simply Scored, Mat Pack and Paper Piercer, Modern Label Punch
Other info:  I used TONS of sticky strip/pages to adhere the fabric, ribbon and medallion.

I'm excited to take this idea and run....stayed tuned for a Christmas version.

Happy Stamping!

SSC 221

Thanks to a rainy day and a son who decided to have a 2 hour nap I was able to put something together for this week's Saturday Sketch Challenge over at Stamping 411 .

Here is the sketch for the Saturday Sketch Challenge:



Saturday Sketch Challenge 221



And here's my version:



Day of Gratitude Embossing for SSC 221



 As you can see, I took a little creative license with the layout of the sketch but I think it adheres to the overall idea.  I have mentioned previously that I am really enjoying working with the colour scheme from the Spice Cake suite from the Holiday Mini.  This card is no exception; Pear Pizazz, Soft Suede, More Mustard, Pool Party and Very Vanilla.

This card is a case from a card I did with my upline about a year ago before I became I demonstrator.  It uses a really neat embossing technique that involves "inking" the stamp on the VersaMark and then inking it with Classic Ink before stamping the image on the page.  After the image is stamped then it is heat embossed using clear embossing powder.  This allows for a shiny embossed image but with your desired colour (since I learned this technique a year ago Stampin' Up has started producing coloured embossing powder but this technique allows you to use any colour).  Here is a close-up of the medallion:



Embossed Medallion

I inked the medallion from the "Day of Gratitude" set with VersaMark and the More Mustard classic ink.  Then I sponged Pear Pizazz and Pool Party around the medallion and added a little brad to the centre.  

Acorns and leaf close-up

To finish the card off I use Pool Party ruffled ribbon and embellished with a couple of acorns and a leaf.  First I threaded the images onto Linen Thread using a sewing needle and then tied them around the ribbon.

Happy Stamping!

I can do this....

My apologies to those who follow this blog regularly for neglecting it over the past couple of months.  This summer was crazy and, as usual, packed with activities and trips.  While my husband was out of the country for 2 weeks at the beginning of August, my son and I were pampered and well-fed at my parents' cottage.  I have to admit, coming home and having to take care of things myself has taken some will-power : )  I have not felt like doing any stamping at all since then and, save preparing for a workshop at TheMuseum, haven't really.

With the start of a new school year, which has always been the start of my year (forget January 1), I have resolved to get my act in gear.  With my husband back to work I'm fending for myself during the day...without the help of swimming lessons, fitness class or Bible study yet.  Yesterday was a good day, today, not so much....my son, the budding artist that he is, decided to take his work off paper and onto the walls....lovely.  I love 2 year olds....really I do : )

Alright, so here's a card I came up with a couple of days ago.  I'm considering using it for next week's Make and Take.  I had fun with my new "Simply Scored" (love it!!) and some great new DSP (Spice Cake).

Gratitude card using the new "Simply Scored" tool

One of the blogging colour challenges last week (or the week before) was to use Soft Suede, Pool Party and More Mustard.  I love this colour combination.  So I decided to try....too late to enter it into the challenge of course : ).  I like the result.  I used the "Day of Gratitude" stamp set for this one.  I love the medallion.  I started by stamping the medallion onto the Pool Party cardstock (with Pool Party ink) and then used the Simply Scored tool to create a 1/2 inch grid...it's hard to see here, but it is a really cool effect.  I LOVE the Simply Scored tool, no more swapping scoring blades out on my paper cutter!  And it's so smooth. 

I used the new Spice Cake DSP from the Holiday Mini for the vertical feature with a strip of More Mustard punched using the Scallop Edge punch.  I took a couple of scraps of Pool Party and ran them through the Big Shot in the lattice embossing folder.  To create the hearts, punch out 6 and then fold 3 of them in half.  I used a glue stick to adhere them to the "flat" hearts and then onto the card.

Whew...I did it.  More to come in the following days.