Stella Says Sketch! Christmas?

Howdy!

Wow! TGIF! It’s been a long week with subbing while fighting off a cold, but I made it through the week and those 2nd graders were a dream class! Amazing! So very sweet and considerate! I’ll miss them, but am so ready for the weekend…and a 3 day one at that! WooHoo!! Thank you, MLK Jr! 😉

I have this fun card to share with you tonight…based off a sketch from Catch the Bug Challenge Blog, who were celebrating their 9th Birthday this whole week! Fun! Been too sick/busy subbing to join in the celebration, but I did get this one done last weekend before I got sick!

Their Stella Says Sketch Challenge was this:

Isn’t it cute?! When I saw that stripe pattern, the Dashing Along DSP popped right into my head and I knew I had to make a Christmas card! Yes, I did say Christmas card and I know that the holiday is over, but like I have said before…I am making them all year long so that I don’t have the crush and cram come Nov/Dec. I plan on having my whole Christmas card stash made before the end of October so that I can play with the new Holiday stuff without the stress of needing to make my own cards for sending! Keep coming back to see how I do! I’ll see about figuring out how to keep a count of them on the blog sidewall, if I can…stay tuned!

Here is my card for this challenge! Funny how I have had that Santa Stache stamp set for about 5 years and this past season is when I finally get around to using it and now I can’t stop! LoL

Didn’t this turn out so cute?! I love it! It could easily be a way to use up smaller pieces of patterned papers and be done on a note card too! Hmmm…I’ll need to keep that in mind!

Supplies I used are:

• Dashing Along DSP (oops, as I was looking for the link I discovered that this is discontinued from the Holiday catalog, sorry!)
• Paper Trimmer
• Santa Stache stamp set (retired, sorry)
• Greetings from Santa – sentiment – (retired, sorry)
• Double Stitched Ribbon in Cherry Cobbler
• Ink – Tuxedo Black
• Stampin’ Blends – Cherry Cobbler dark
• Banner Triple Punch
• Whisper White Cardstock
• Paper snips for the fussy cutting of the Santa
• Adhesives – dimensionals, snail

Psst, I haven’t looked because I have them…but retired stuff might be found on ebay or fb yard sale site…it’s worth a look if you really want to find them. I’m keeping mine since I fell in love with it so much this past season.

Time for bed…haven’t kicked this cold completely, so rest is still needed! Thank you for reading and taking this crafting journey with me! It’s nice to have you along! Enjoy your Stampin’, Scrappin’, and Craftin’ journey and feel free to share and CASE with me! I love to see what others create!

Blessings, June

**If you like items that you saw me use, please contact your SU Demonstrator. If you don’t have a demonstrator yet, I am happy to assist you with your stamping and crafting needs! You can order by clicking on the blue words in the text or Click Here Now. Or you can leave me a comment and I will contact you to help you with your order. If your order is less than $150, please use January Hostess Code 3S9KHWAN and I will send you a personal Thank You card and gift. If you place an order over $150, enjoy the rewards you’ve earned and receive a special Thank You card and gift from me in the mail as well!**

Challenges this has been entered in to:

• Catch the Bug Challenge Blog – Stella Says Sketch #701
• ABC Christmas – A is for Anything Christmas Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge Blog – January 2019 Challenge 

Current Happenings with Stampin’ Up! Click on any picture to get more information!

Until March 31st

Click on the picture to watch a video about the new tote, then ask me how to get yours NOW!

January 11-February 10 – click on picture to watch a Sneak Peek video of the kit!

Click on the picture to watch a video about the:

Updated regularly! Check often! While supplies last!

Ongoing

Until May 31, 2018

 

 

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Easy-Peasy Christmas Cards!

Hello, Hello!

If you have seen my posts before, you know I am a huge fan of Paper Pumpkin from Stampin’ Up! In case you are new and have not heard of Paper Pumpkin…or heck, in case you have seen me mention it, but didn’t ask what it was…let me tell you about this amazing monthly kit! The joyful mail I get each month!

Paper Pumpkin is a monthly kit from Stampin’ Up! that comes right to your mailbox. All the hard work of designing the cards and cutting out the cardstock and diecuts is already done for you! All you have to do is put it together! Inside is everything you need to make a minimum of 8 cards. Sometimes you get little crafts that are 3D items like treat baggies or tubes for Halloween, or stockings and bunnies for Christmas and Easter. The crafts vary depending on the Holiday coming up. Mostly, it is amazing cards that are simple and easy to make. There are instructions to follow for each type of card, usually 2 designs and you make 4 of each design. Then there are leftovers that you can use to make more cards. Envelopes for the cards are always included, as are the stamp set and ink that you need. There are embellishments and adhesive as well! In your first box, they even send you a clear block to use each month for stamping!

Here are some examples from past kits. Current Paper Pumpkin subscribers have the opportunity to purchase past kits.

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So, there you have it! Paper Pumpkin is a fun box you get in the mail each month and you get to make all kinds of cards and crafts! And, it’s only $19.95! You can’t buy 8 cards for that! You’d get maybe 3, if you’re lucky! Your family and friends will LOVE your handmade cards! Trust me! Mine do and yours will too!

This next box is decorated for Christmas, so there will be Christmas themed items in it and that can help you get your holidays started. What better way to say, “I love you and am thinking of you” than with a handmade card at Christmas time?!

I will be posting more Paper Pumpkin projects in the future. I tend make 1 of each of what the instructions say and then I often veer off and do my own alternate cards and projects. However, I have been known to love their design so much that I just made what came in the kit and used the extras for my alternates. There are always plenty of extra embellishments and you can even mix items from other boxes! If I need a Birthday card, but the current kit says Thank You, I will just go to another kit and get the stamp I want. That’s the beauty of it all! You get to keep the stamps and ink as well as all the leftovers to use as you wish!

Ok, I could keep going on and on, but I won’t.

If you want this box of FUN coming to your mailbox next month, then CLICK HERE to start your subscription now! You need to register before the 10th of November! Don’t wait! DO IT NOW! You won’t regret it!

Thank you for reading and taking this crafting journey with me! It’s nice to have you along!

Enjoy your Stampin’, Scrappin’, and Craftin’ journey and feel free to share with me!

Blessings, June

Click on other happenings at Stampin’ Up!:

Currently

November 1-30, 2018

Ongoing until January 2, 2019

Ongoing until May 31, 2019

 

SU! Holiday Card Swap #3

Hello! Happy Sunday!

I trust you are all doing well today and having a relaxing day! It’s a wonderful day to be alive!

Yes, I am on a roll and on a mission to get completely caught up with all my bogging of current and past (not too far back) projects!

This is another card I made for the card swap using the Still Night stamp set and thinlits! Christmas! I had fun making this one! I did some more masking for this card! However, this time I did have the thinlits to go with this set and also discovered that maybe fussy-cutting masks is a must. “What?!?” You say. Yes, I did just type that. You’ll see in a moment why I am thinking that fussy cutting is better than using the thinlits!

I started with my prototype and ended with a different card. Actually, a couple different cards. This card evolved into the cards I made for the swap vs the card I started with. There are rules for the swaps. We need 3 layers. 1 base + 1 full 2^nd layer + a 3^rd layer of some sort. We also need embellishments.

Here was my prototype…

 

Real Red cardstock for the base, cut at 4 ¼” x 11” and scored at 5 ¼” with an inch cut off the front of the card so that the Under the Mistletoe DSP shows at the bottom.

Here were my 2 alternates that came about because I needed that full 2^nd layer to be able to use it for the swap.

(If I didn’t follow the rules, I would not be invited for other swaps and I would get my cards back. I know this sounds harsh and at first, I had the same reaction, however, when everyone follows the rules it just works!)

I chose the one on the left to use for the swap. Which one would you choose??

In the end, I actually prefer the one I chose for the swap best. I didn’t choose the one with the Old Olive card stock inside because I figured that attempting to get that circle in the right spot each time would be tough. It was easiesr to just trim the Real Red base down to 4” x  5 1/4″ and make the Garden Green card stock 4 ¼” x 5 ½” to back it up. That gave me my 2 full layers. Then the circle with the owl counted as my 3rd layer.

I ended up cutting, with my trimmer, the Real Red at 4″ x 9 3/8″ and scoring at 4 1/8″ so that I had a larger piece as a left over to use elsewhere versus having a 1″ small pieces. I also saved all the red circles to use for other cards and the white paper with the circles cut out as well. I always attempt to use as much of the leftovers on other projects as I can.  I do not like to waste paper so I keep all scraps. Many scraps get used and I continue to challenge myself to use more of what I have. The ones I use the most are the white scrap strips…they get used for journaling in my scrapbooking!

The circle was cut using the 3 inch Stitched Framelits. I really like these framelits and how they have that extra framed edge that looks like stitching!

The masking came about so that I could stamp the owl onto the branch. There was some overlapping. As I said in the last blog post, masking allows you to give dimension to your stamping and create an overlapping of objects. In that case, it was the leaves. In this one, it was to have the owl in the forefront on the branch. I stamped the owl first using a Sahara Sand marker for the chest feathers and under the eyes. Then I used Soft Suede marker for the back feathers, feet, and the eyes. After stamping, I laid the mask over the owl and stamped the branch in Early Espresso over it. Now, as you can see, the lines don’t meet up because the mask was created with the thinlits on the Big Shot and are a bit larger than the stamped image. To make up for that I had to use my Early Espresso marker to attach the lines and make it all look blended. Not an easy feat and I had many re-dos! Another rule for the swap is clean stamping! Which I agree with wholeheartedly! That includes making sure that the branch fell where it was supposed to and that my “attaching” was smooth and looked like part of the branch that was missing! Hence, in the future, masks will be fussy-cut close to the stamped image so that there is not so much space! Although I may use the thinlit first and trim closer to the stamped image to help the fussy-cutting go faster. Now you understand!

I used Old Olive and Garden Green for the pine needles and Rhinestones for my embellishment. I also added a Garden Green one inside next to the sentiment.

The Under the Mistletoe DSP was used for the bottom strip of the card. I definitely need to use more of this paper!

That’s it! What do you think? Which version of the card do you like best?? Leave a comment below and let me know. I am truly curious! It was a tough choice…in the end, time was the biggest factor once again.

Thank you for reading and taking this crafting journey with me! It’s nice to have you along!

Enjoy your Stampin’, Scrappin’, and Craftin’ journey and feel free to share with me!

Blessings, June

Challenges this card has been entered into:

Crafting By Designs – Get Ready for Christmas September edition

Winter Wonderland Challenge Blog – Anything Christmas Goes

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge – CHNC Challenge 405

‘Christmas in July?’ w/ SU!

Hello!

Yes, I am back and it hasn’t been months! Just a couple days! Time to start sharing some of what I have been working on this summer. First off, we’ll start with an oddly typical July theme…nope, not patriotic. It’s Christmas! I wasn’t sure when it started being a thing so I looked it up on Bing. I am so shocked that it is not such a recent thing! Who knew?

“Christmas in July started 84 years ago on July 24th and 25th in 1933 at a girls’ camp called Keystone Camp in Brevard, North Carolina.” (must have been a question from last year because now it would be exactly 85 years)

How weird is that? I never knew! I thought for sure it was just in my lifetime and more likely of my adult lifetime. I was wrong…and I am a-okay with that! 

Anyway, I made a Christmas card with the new DSP (Designer Series Paper) from Stampin’ Up! that is on sale right now. What?! You didn’t know that Stampin’ Up! was having a DSP sale? Crazy! Although, I guess it is my fault since I haven’t been blogging…let’s remedy that!

DSP is on sale! Buy 3 Get 1 FREE! Yep, that lovely 4 letter word is back in play! You can click on the blue words now, or later, and I will leave an attachment at the bottom of this post that you can click on as well.

Back to the card…

This card layout came from a sketch challenge put on by Sketch Saturday. It really inspired me to use the Christmas paper from the DSP Sale! Actually, it screamed at me!

Christmas in July was fun and I am so in love with the paper. The paper is called Under the Mistletoe and I really felt inspired by many of the sheets in this set. You can see all the different patterns really well in this picture. So much versatility. It’s double sided and you get 2 of each sheet! This one with the bells is my favorite! I’m using this card for a class this weekend. Wanna come?

For the card I flip-flopped the sketch and used Real Red card stock as a base and a strip of Old Olive card stock along the left side instead of the right. I used the Stitched Shape Framelits for my circle and oval. I like using them because they give it a border and finished look. Yes, I also changed it up by using an oval instead of a circle for the sentiment, but that is okay! I need to learn to slip out-of-the-box a little more often! It’s a healthy thing to do, especially in crafting! Then I used my dauber and Old Olive ink pad to distress the edges of the sentiment oval and the Old Olive strip. I also used clear rhinestones and a red Sharpie to give them color since my son and I agreed that you really couldn’t see the clear ones very well. I love the little sparkle they gave the card. Since I was keeping the card simple, the sentiment from the Christmas Pines stamp set suited it perfectly.

It’s simple yet striking, I think. Tell me what you think! I’m truly curious to know!

On to the next card/blog…

Enjoy your day! Keep on crafting!

Blessings, June

PS. Here is the promised link for the DSP Sale in case you don’t want to scroll back up…

Challenges this card is entered in:

Sketch Saturday – Week #523 with Kitty Bee Designs

Hiding in My Craft Room – HIMCR #362 – Christmas in July!

Through the Craft Room Door – TTCRD Anything goes challenge, week of July 24

Materials used for this card:

UNDER THE MISTLETOE DESIGNER SERIES PAPER

Price: $11.00

UNDER THE MISTLETOE 8-1/2″ X 11″ CARDSTOCK PACK

Price: $8.50

STAMPIN’ TRIMMER

Price: $30.00

 

STITCHED SHAPES FRAMELITS DIES

Price: $30.00

BIG SHOT

Price: $110.00

MAGNETIC PLATFORM

Price: $40.00

STANDARD CUTTING PADS

Price: $11.00

CHRISTMAS PINES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET

Price: $35.00

EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN’ PAD

Price: $7.50

OLD OLIVE CLASSIC STAMPIN’ PAD

Price: $7.50

RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS

Price: $5.00

SU! Last day is tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the last day to get these ON SALE items! Don’t miss out! Click on the picture and order yours today!

 

SU! I’m in LOVE!

Good afternoon! Happy Saturday!!

I’m in LOVE!! This is the best Santa ever!! It makes me think of my hubby! Almost twin like, wouldn’t you agree??

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It’s a thinlit from Stampin’ Up! called Detailed Santa Thinlit!  You can bundle the thinlit with the stamp set here. It’s in the Holiday Catalog.

I used Cherry Cobbler for the base and cut the Santa out of the front of the card and then put a Whisper White piece of cardstock behind it! I then stamped the Ho! Ho! Ho! in Cherry Cobbler on the white. There was a border created from the thinlit so I used my Dazzling Details silver to edge the frame of the Santa. Added some Cherry Cobbler Baker’s twine and another sentiment on top from the coordinating stamp set. I think it is a darling card, if I do say so myself! Had to have that thinlit when I saw it because it made me think of my loving hubby! We took this picture last year at Christmas! His beard is about that long again. (He had to cut it shorter for his job earlier this year, but has since let it grow out again and nobody has said anything)

Enjoy your Saturday!! Happy crafting!

Blessings, June

Challenges this card is entered in:

Hiding in My Craft Room – HIMCR #277 Any Holiday

Crafting by Design – Get Ready for Christmas November Edition

A Bit More Time to Craft – Challenge #32 – Anything Goes

Brown Sugar Challenge – Challenge #226 – Anything Goes

SU! Sparkling Christmas Pines

Good Evening!

I trust you all had a marvelous and delicious Thanksgiving yesterday! We were with about 20 family members on my husband’s side! He has a very large family and it was lots of fun and games after the eating was done! I love board games!

Then we came home and I got in the creative mood…but first, I made a messy blob! That was weird and funny all at the same time…and then my son said this morning that I could use my Dazzling Details as a weapon if someone came into the house. Boys!

Here’s the scoop… I was making this card and decided I would use it for a Silver and Gold Challenge so I needed to add some sliver. I grabbed my silver Dazzling Details and saw that it was a bit dry inside. Usually if I just squeeze it enough, it will make a little blob on my paper, but will break free. This time, however, it shot the top off and went whizzing by my arm and then the bottle unloaded in a complete blob on my paper! Luckily not the card!

I had to turn on more lights to find the darned top nozzle! It was under my desk. I cleaned up the floor and then looked in dismay at the blob! Then I grabbed my poker to smear what I could on my card and thought I would have to throw the rest away. (I do NOT like to waste anything!) Hubby to the rescue. We were able to scoop it back into the bottle, he cleared the dry nozzle and I was back in business! Then I got out a plastic kid’s paint brush and used it to brush on more of the silver on the pine needles. I really like how it turned out! And it would not have been so perfect if it wasn’t for the big blob, first!

The stamp set is Christmas Pines stamp set and happens to still be on sale this month for 25% off. I also used the matching DSP (Designer Paper Series) that goes with this set, as well as, the framelits for the pine needles. I really like how the card turned out. The card base and berry cutout is Cherry Cobbler. The pine needles and ink are Emerald Envy. The baker’s twine is Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White. The Decorative Label Punch was used for the sentiment, which came from the Christmas Pines stamp set. For the Emerald Envy punch behind the sentiment, I just cut the punched out piece in half and pulled it apart to show the edge.

Overall, I am pleased with how it turned out. I trust you like it too!

Until tomorrow! Happy crafting!

Blessings, June

Challenges this card is entered into:

Fairytale Challenge – #156 Gold & Silver

Brown Sugar Challenge Blog – Challenge #226 – Anything Goes

Creative Craft Cottage – Challenge #76 – Anything Goes

The Crazy Challenge – CCH #236 – Getting Ready For Christmas

Through the Craftroom Door – TTCRD ATG Challenge 22nd November

A Little Bit More Time to Craft – Challenge #32 – Anything Goes

Crafting By Design – Getting Ready for Christmas November Edition