SOF Bird Challenge

Ok, here is my last challenge project for Stamptoberfest. The challenge for this one was to use bird stamps. I used the new stamp set from TAC's Fall Supplement, Birdie Holiday, which is very pretty if you haven't seen it already. If you haven't checked out the Fall Supplement yet, you should...It is full of brand new stamp sets for the holidays! The background on this one is done with the Cuttlebug Swirls embossing folder. It is on matchmakers cardstock which has the white core so I sanded over the embossing to give it a distressed look. I'm loving the look, so I will be playing with it some more!

Stamptoberfest Color Sketch Challenge Card

I love Halloween! That is what made this challenge even more fun. We were provided a sketch to use as the basis of our card design, then we were to use the colors purple, orange, and green. Perfect colors for Halloween!
The cat and the sentiment stamp are both from Happy Haunting, which has been a favorite of mine for a long time now. The little stamps on the green card are a combination of two sets; Blossom Builders and Creepy Crawlies. I really like the asterisk and bullsey looking stamps from Blossom Builders. They can be used for so much more than making flowers! The paterned paper is from the Simply Spooky paper pack.

True Meaning Of Christmas SOF Challenge

This was one of those cards that I just wasn't liking to start with. The colors were a bit hard to match up, the ribbon dealt me a fit, my bottle of Stickles kept clogging up on me, and it just was not looking right. In the end it all finally came together, and I really like the way it turned out; it just took a while to get there!

This is another SOF challenge card. The basic layout is taken from a sketch that ConnieP provided over on 2Peas for her Sketch challenge. Then I decided that I would go with the Christmas theme for Dawn's True Meaning Of Christmas challenge.

The thing that I really love about Christmas is the happiness or Joy that everyone seems to carry with them through the Christmas season. Even though that joy can come from completely different things. For some it is because it is a season that celebrates their chosen faith, and for others it is simply the time that they spend with their family and friends that brings them joy. And let's face it, we all love presents! I don't mean in a greedy "gimme" sort of way either. Honestly, it doesn't matter where that joy comes from; it's just nice to see everyone a little happier, more tolerant, cheerful, and more giving than usual!

The swirly paper on the left is done with a Cuttlebug embossing folder and colored with the Fruitcake Kaleidacolor pad. I stamped Ornamental Joy with the Red Magic VersaMagic pad, and added some Christmas Red Stickles just to add a little sparkle. The "to the world" stamp is from Tis The Season. It actually says "Joy to the World", so I just omitted the word "Joy" when I inked it with the black ink.

SOF Tag Stamps Challenge Card

Here is another SOF Challenge card. The challenge for this one was to use a tag stamp on your card. I have had this set of tags for a long time now, and I really need to use them more because they are so great. I now have the tag stamps sitting out on my table and I am going to put them to work!
I used the Fun Tags stamp set for my purple tag. I set an eyelet in the top to give it a more finished look and to run my ribbon through. The flourish stamp in the background is from Curls & Swirls and the sentiment is from Pumpkins. The paterned paper is from the Simply Spooky Pad, and let me tell you, these papers are just too cute! So much fun for Halloween! The pumpkin on the tag is from a sheet of stickers that I picked up at Michael's in their dollar section. Now i'm wishing I would have picked up more :-)

Brighten Your Day Challenge

I finally got around to completing a challenge card for Stamptoberfest (SOF). This one is for the Brighten Your Day challenge...
The challenge specified that your card must be done using flower stamps so I used Salsa Flowers . I wanted bright and cheery colors so I used the Cha Cha Cardstock and the tag across the bottom is from the Cha Cha Soar With It Collection. These colors will brighten anyone's day! Now i'm off, hopefully to make some more challenge cards!

Darn That Packaging!

I am definitely a sucker for packaging! While in Hobby Lobby last week I came across these little flowers. Nothing new and exciting, but they just looked so darn cute with all of the bright colors stacked up in these adorable little containers (which you can see just to the left of the card), that I just couldn't resist. After a hectic week of car shopping and dealing with insurance (minor car accident=new car), I finally got around to using these little babies and made a card. Now I would also like to ask the question: Are you also a sucker for the packaging? Let me know in the poll over on the right hand side!

The card is really basic. I used cardstocks from the Brights Cardstock Stack, the background is stamped with one of the flourish stamps from Curls & Swirls, and the "love" stamp is from Love Doodles . I used the little flower embossing folder from the Cuttlebug Decorative Squares set to make the border around the flower.

Emma's Birthday Invites

I have to thank Mary for sharing the idea for these little cards with me. She pointed me to a tutorial for them on Dawn Mercedes's blog, and I decided to use them for my daughter's birthday invitations. Emma and I both really love them! I didn't have any paterned paper at all that would match the Hello Kitty stickers. Everything was either too bright or too dull, so I ended up stamping my own on a sheet of printer paper. It's been a long time since I actually stamped a background. I've mostly been using paterned paper for a long time, and I must say that stamping backgrounds again was quite fun!

Recipe
Stamps: Love and Joy (T-2659), You're Invited (T-1203)
Ink: Palette Noir Pad (TT-220), Palette Belle Rose Pad (TT-193)
Paper: Pink 1 (V-91), Red 1 (V-118), Printer Paper
Tools: Super Jumbo Circle Punch (D-73), Mega Scallop Circle Punch
Other: Hello Kitty Stickers (SandyLion), Pink Ribbon (Offray), Metallic Colored Staples (D-56)

~Michelle

One Idea Two Projects

Last night I made two different projects with one general design idea. I like the idea of taking one idea and using it in multiple ways. The first one is this Christmas card.
Recipe
Stamps: Simply Christmas (R-2721)
Paper: Amelia Cardstock (B-317), Amelia Paterned Cardstock (V-838), Aspen Cardstock (V-228)
Ink: Palette Burnt Umber (TT-218), Palette Bordeaux (TT-198), Palette Jardin Moss (TT-215)
Embellishments: Amelia Hardware (B-117), Amelia Ribbon (B-217)
Tools: Crop-a-dile (K-100)

The second project is this little Christmas wall/door hanger. It uses the same basic supplies and design idea but is for home decor instead of a card.

Recipe

Stamps: Simply Christmas (R-2721)

Paper: Amelia Cardstock (B-317), Amelia Paterned Cardstock (V-838), Aspen Cardstock (V-228)

Ink: Palette Burnt Umber (TT-218), Palette Noir (TT-220)

Embellishments: Amelia Hardware (B-117), Amelia Ribbon (B-217)

Tools: Crop-a-dile (K-100)

~Michelle

Holiday Weekend Stamping!

I got to spend the day stamping at my sisters house on Saturday! It is something that we haven't done in a very long time and it was great. I'm already checking my calendar to see when we can spend the weekend stamping again! Here is one of the cards that I made. I recently got the Salsa Flowers set and I am loving these flowers. They look really good watercolored. I just used my blending pen with my brush markers to color this one.

~Michelle

Christmas, A Little Different

I am loving this color combination for Christmas! I signed up for a card swap where the theme is non-tradidtional colors for Christmas so I started playing around to see what I might make for it. I think this is it! The stamps are from the Holiday Magic set which I can already tell will be one of my favorites for the holidays this year; the stamps are gorgeous. The papers are a combination of the green and coral from the Brights Stack and the brown is from the Neutrals Stack. I stamped the tree with Hint of Pesto, and tied a bit of Brown Scrappers Floss around the front. Definitely not traditional Christmas colors, but it looks great!

~Michelle

Stacked Cupcakes

I love these cupcakes! It is actually a single cupcake from the For All Seasons stamp set that I masked to make a stack of them. I used some white Liquid Applique for the frosting, so it is fluffy. The paterned paper is from the A Little Whimsy pad. The papers in this pad are very cool. The paterns are fun and the colors are bright and cheery; a lot of fun to work with!