For my Friend

So...I tried out for the CAS team on Splitcoast last week and...I made it to the semi-finals! That fact was so exciting for me! I love the CAS team and love their challenges...and it is a challenge...keeping it simple is not easy for this not-so-simple girl! However, it is a style that I definitely enjoy and want to keep working at perfecting! Unfortunately I didn't make it to the final round of try outs but there's always next time! I'm excited to see who they pick for the team!

Our second challenge for the semi-finalists was to create a card featuring presents. I created two cards for the challenge and this is one of them! (I ended up posting the other as it was a bit more simple and sometimes you can't help but wonder if you should have gone with the other option!!) No worries, now I get to share this card featuring a sweet present image from Sweet 'n Sassy today!

This image is from the Christmas Itty Bitties stamp set and is the greatest set that includes six itty bitty stamps! The design is fairly simple, an embossed panel and a few scallops on each side of the embossed area. My three little presents are colored in pink and glitter stripes (I've got a thing for pink lately!) and backed by a pink square.

While I didn't make the team this time, I hope you enjoyed today's card and you take a moment to check out the CAS message board on Splitcoast!

Enjoy!

PS - PSA Essentials blop hop on December 1 - be sure to check back for all the details!

Give Thanks

Happy a few days after Thanksgiving! Did everyone have an enjoyable Thanksgiving? We had a blast and I'm excited to share a Thanksgiving page, featuring PSA Essentials stamps, from last year's feast.

For the past 10 years or so we've gotten together with a few families from our church. When my husband and I were first married we spent Thanksgiving with my side of the family (Christmas is with his side - yeah!!) and then a few years ago it became difficult to gather with my family in NY so we opted to say gathering with our friends, who are just about as close as family. And that is a blessing - a wonderful family and friends! Bonus!

All of our families together total about 14 people and we all bring a few dishes to share so none of us are burdened with doing all of the cooking. The fun part is that we each bring our best and favorite dishes to share. Each year I can hardly wait for sweet potato casserole, ham, and cranberry salad and one of the features of my page was to feature photos of my favorite foods!!

Since this page was fairly complex, I opted to focus on the photos and just a few embellishments. The paper banner was created by stamping and embossing a decorative image, from PSA, on kraft cardstock. I then used a blending tool and Distress Ink to color the banner; the embossing resists the ink. I then folded and stapled the paper to create dimension. The 'thanks' (isn't that font amazing?!) title was stamped also using PSA stamps. Since these are clear stamps, it's a breeze to line up the letters! The flower was created using Gluebers and ribbon (from Papertreyink) and the inside of the flower is another PSA image stamped in yellow ink. I added a few glittery leaves and the 'give' sentiment (using stickers) finished off the page!

Enjoy and be sure to check out all of PSA Essentials stamps...they rock!!

Snowflakes

I have a post on the Sweet 'n Sassy blog today, featuring the above card. Come on over and check it out!

Enjoy and wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Lunch Bag Gift Card Holder

Happy Monday my blogging peeps! How is everyone today? Ready for Thanksgiving? I can't wait! But before we talk turkey, let's talk gift card holders! This one is made from a paper lunch bag...isn't that the greatest idea! It's not my original idea but was inspired by a project found in Card Maker magazine. I'll be creating this project with my crafting buddies at an upcoming Wholly Scrap! class that is focused on using Spellbinders dies.

One of the goals of our Spellbinders class is to create a fairly quick and easy project, something that can be completed in about an hour and this project fits the bill! To create the paper sack card holder, I simply folded a brown paper bag in half and secured the sides with glue (hey, class participants, no creating your project early! LOL!) I then covered the front of the paper sack with papers from Little Yellow Bicycle (Winter & Wonder line). The dies used are from the Labels Nine set. I also used a Just Rite stamp set, You Inspire Me, to decorate the outside frame around the sentiment, from the Primitive Christmas set from Sweet 'n Sassy.

The inside card, which is easily pulled out by the little button tab (buttons and ribbon from Papertreyink), was created by embossing some plain cardstock and again layering the LYB paper. The largest Labels Nine die is the gift card holder and I simply cut a slit in the label for the gift card. A piece of foam tape keeps the gift card from sliding out of the slit. I finished up my project with a few Dew Drops and scallops.

Enjoy! And if you want to give this project a try, do so and leave me a comment with a link back to your blog or online gallery to show me your project. I'll give you until next Monday (great day-after-Thanksgiving project) to comment and then I'll pick a random winner from the list of commenters to receive a stamping grab bag of goodies from me!

It's Another Happy Birthday

I'm on a happy birthday kick this month!! Did you know that this month is Sweet 'n Sassy's birthday celebration month! During the entire month of November (our 4th year in business - yeah!!), Sweet 'n Sassy is offering weekly sales! There are some amazing offers so please visit the SNSS web site asap!

Today's card, which is one I created for this week's CAS challenge over at Splitcoast, features my friend Ted (I don't know, doesn't he look like Ted? Ted the Turtle?) from the Gifts from Turtle stamp set and designer paper from Jillibean Soup. Nothing complicated about this card (as is the joy of CAS cards!), just an embossing folder, a notebook punch, and a few snips of ribbon. Love this sweet and simple cards!! (And I have a thing for Ted too...he's awfully cute..)

Enjoy!

Journey

Just a quick card to showcase some new stamps that I recently acquired. Two stamps were used on this card, both from Memory Box. This is the first time I've purchased Memory Box stamps and I almost didn't as they are wood mounted stamps and honestly, I've kind of left my wood mounted stamps behind in favor of acrylic or unmounted stamps but these two images were so pretty that I simply had to grab them while I was visiting a local stamp store.

To create my card I started by embossing the card background with an embossing folder and then I simply added a piece of text designer paper and this fun die cut, from MFT, in black. For the main image panel, I started by misting the cardstock with Perfect Pearls, you can just see the shimmer in the upper right side. Then I stamped the print image, Journey Collage, in black and stamps the floral image, Birch Branch Print, on top of the text. Love it!! Last piece was this fun metal brad that I found in my stash, perfect color match! Don't you love when that happens?

Enjoy today's card and check out Memory Box stamps...they're fabulous!!

Halloween Dress Up

Hey strangers! Life continues to be busy and my crafting time has once again fallen by the wayside. However, I'm planning on spending an entire day stamping with a friend this coming Saturday. I am so looking forward to spending the day crafting!!

So today's project is a bit late with regards to holidays, seeing as we're on the verge of Thanksgiving (can you believe it??!!) and Halloween is long past. But I had to share this page, it's one of my favorites!

The stamps used on this page is from PSA Essentials and features this sweet Hello Kitty image. Isn't she darling hiding out under the tree? Surrounding the number 31 is also a circle of tiny bats, also from PSA.

The papers and stickers are from Best Creation and the black sparkley circles are new from Kasier Craft, called Sparklets...they're way cool. :-) The letters that spell out Halloween are grungeboard letters. And that cute little pirate? She's my friends daughter...she's pretty darn cute too!

Enjoy! Check out all of the Hello Kitty stamps from PSA, you'll love them!

Merry Christmas to You

Seriously, can we delay Christmas by say another three months? I'm just not ready, no matter how many Christmas cards I create! :-) Who has started their shopping already? Me? I plan to start on December 23... Today's card features stamps by Just Rite and die cuts by Spellbinders. Last month we started a Spellbinders club at Wholly Scrap! Club members are give an opportunity to purchase Spellbinders dies and Just Rite stamps, when applicable, at a discounted price and during our meeting we create one or two CAS projects. Spellbinders has generously donated product for retail stores along with samples for instructors to re-create. Last months card sample was created by Kim Crawford. I adore Kim's work and was excited to try out her card layout. I was also excited to try out the matching stamps and dies. Love them! I was just stunned at how pretty these ornament stamps and dies were, the photos don't do them justice. Dies are from the Heirloom Ornaments set and the stamp set is Merry & Bright. I plan to definitely create more cards with these products!! A big thank you to Spellbinders and Kim Crawford! Enjoy!

Sweet 'n Sassy Birthday Hop

Hello and welcome to the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Birthday Blog Hop! Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps is so excited to be celebrating four wonderful years! I met Korin a few years ago during a stamping event in PA and we connected right away, she's a blast and a much loved Christian sister!! When she was looking for new DT members, I simply had to try out and I've been blessed to be on the team for two years now. I love this team so much that I'd be happy to stay forever!! :-) I couldn't be more excited for Korin and am so happy to celebrate this fourth year with her and the rest of our wonderful team!

A fantastic group of Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps design team members past and present, along with some special friends, have put together this fabulous Birthday Blog Hop to kick off a whole month of fun. We have 36 stops so the hop will take place over three days - feel free to take your time visiting each blog! You have until 11:59pm EST November 9th to leave comments on as many blogs as you can. On Saturday, November 12th Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps will announce FOUR winners (chosen at random from comments on random stops along the hop); each lucky winner will receive a prize pack including stamps, dies, paper & twine valued at $40!

If you have been following along already you should have come from Taylor Usry. If you are only starting here, please head back to the SNSS blog and go from there. You won't want to miss any stops along the way! Also, don't forget to comment on as many stops as you can....the more comments the better your chance of winning one of the fabulous prize packs! :)

My card features this darling turtle image and sentiment from the Gifts from Turtle stamp set. My sweet turtle was colored with Copics and paired with designer paper from Cosmo Cricket. And the layout is from this week's Sweet Stop challenge blog!

Ready for the next stop? Your next stop on the hop is Monika Davis but just in case there are any hiccups, here is the whole list of celebrants on this party train:

Korin Sutherland

Taylor Usry

Kim Schofield - You're here!

Monika Davis

Lydia Fiedler

Harriet Skelly

Makiko Jones

Jerusha Borden

Mary Marsh

Lori Craig

Kim O'Connell

Chris Dickinson

Stephanie Wright

Shannon White

Janette Olen

Katlyn Traxler

Deb Felts

Stephanie Serrano

Jessica Fick

Kim Singdahlsen

Mary Faus

Sandy Domelle

Bridget Finlay

Ceal Pritchett

Dina Kowal

Margo Smith

Shelby Goolsby

Tami Mayberry

Lorie Souther

Darsie Bruno

Cathy McCauley

Beate Johns

Janice Melton

Jacquie Peifer

Lisa Hjulberg

Holly McMillen

Winter Stocking

I have a card posted on the Sweet 'n Sassy blog today! Hop on over to check out all of the details!! PS - Another big blog hop is scheduled for Monday! Be sure to stop back by for all of the details and eye candy!!

Sweet 'n Sassy Release Day Celebration

Greetings! Welcome to the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Release Day Blog Hop! This month we have are doing something really fun - the Design Divas and the Digi Team are hopping together, to celebrate the fabulous clear stamps, digis, and dies being released tonight!! Grab your favorite cuppa and maybe some of that yummy chocolate the kids collected this week and get ready for some amazing eye candy!

Don't forget to join us tonight at 8:00PM EST in our member company forums over on Splitcoaststampers - we have a great release party planned! There will be full reveals of all of the stamp sets, digis and dies, plus challenges AND prizes!!! Once you have stopped by each blog, come back to the SNSS blog and leave a comment letting us know what you think of our November release. You won't want to forget this step because we've got a HUGE prize up for grabs.....the ENTIRE NOVEMBER RELEASE valued at over $130!!!!!....that's 6 stamp sets, 3 die sets and 11 digis!! Tonight at the release party we'll announce our randomly drawn winner from the comments on this post. If you have been following along already you should have come from the Sweet 'n Sassy blog. If you are only starting here, please head back to the SNSS blog and go from there. You won't want to miss any stops along the way!

My project for the blog hop includes this darling Rhubarb image from the new Rhubarb's Winter Fun set, which includes not one, not two, but three sweet Rhubarb images! I couldn't resist using Rhubarb holding a big 'ol mug of coffee...I know it should probably be hot chocolate but the truth is that I'll always pick coffee over hot chocolate! I used Copic markers to color Rhubarb and paired him with darling paper from Jillibean Soup. I also created some snow by free hand cutting a few snow hills and adding a bit of ink to the hills to give them definition. And since I opted to cut Rhubarb out to pop him up on the snow banks, I had to cut off the stream coming from his cup 'o jo. So...I used wires to create the steam...Fun, right? I added the sentiment with some faux stitching and the buttons, which are covered with fabric, are from SU!

How about a second card with a new second set!!?? This beautiful swirly snow image is from the soon-to-be-released Snowflake Flouish set. Isn't is divine? Not only do I love swirls but snowflakes and swirls...it's almost more than I can take! And how about the darling font used on the sentiment, love that too! My two images were paired with new paper from Little Yellow Bicycle called Winter Twig. To create my swirl image, I first stamped the image in VersaMark ink and then embossed it with white embossing powder. Using Distress Ink I went over the entire embossed image, using a blending tool. The lovely black and white twine can also be purchased at Sweet 'n Sassy. So...are you ready for the next stop??

Your next stop on the hop is Sandy Domelle but just in case there are any hiccups, here is the whole list of team members sharing new release goodness today:

SNSS Blog Kim Schofield - You're Here! Sandy Domelle Ceal Pritchett Mary Faus Janette Olen Makiko Jones Kim Singdahlsen Jessica Fick Stephanie Wright Dina Kowal Holly McMillen Carol Longacre Taylor Usry Cathy McCauley Margo Smith Bridget Finlay Harriet Skelly Monika Davis Korin Sutherland

Happy Birthday Sweet 'n Sassy!!!

This month Sweet 'n Sassy is celebrating their 4th birthday!! Yeah!! I'm so excited to be able to celebrate with the entire SNSS team! And we're celebrating with all of you with month long sales and specials! Check out all the details on the SNSS web site! We'll also be sharing birthday themed Inspiration Challenges each week on the SNSS message board. Details here! (PS - There are prizes involved this week!!)

For my card I just had to use a birthday image and I chose a darling Cocoa image from the A Cocoa Kind of Birthday set. I paired Cocoa with darling paper from Jillibean Soup and some fun red and white twine.

Be sure to check out the Sweet 'n Sassy web site for sale details and check back on November 7th for our huge birthday celebration blog hop! (We also have a November release party on November 3rd so check back for those details too!!)

Enjoy!