Stamp-a-Stack Cards Continued

Happy Sunday, everyone! I don't know about all of you, but I am enjoying the weekend and am sad to see it wrapping up and coming to an end. I have some time before I have to head to Zumba and Strong (another class at the gym that I am a huge fan of these days) so I figured I should share these last two cards before I forget!

You know how much I love Chocolate Chip--it is my favorite neutral to work with on most occassions. I paired it with the Bashful Blue here and really wanted to use a Kraft cardstock base but I didn't have enough so I went with Sahara Sand instead. I think it looks okay, but I think I would have preferred the Kraft. Maybe next time. This layout is one I've used many times though I typically center that focal panel. I saw this card on the Clean and Simple blog and you can easily see how I pretty much CASEd it in making this card and why I think I would have preferred the Kraft--I think it looks great on the card that Natasha made. I'll have to edit this post later because of course, I cannot for the life of me remember the stamp set I used!

Botanical Blooms was the first Sale-a-Bration set that I chose because I loved the sample shown in the SAB flyer. Which speaking of SAB flyers, I use the term 'flyer' loosely because I really have just looked at the PDF online. It seems that SU's mini catalogs are taking FOREVER to arrive in the mail and it's driving me nuts! Okay, complaining session is over...back to the card. I used a couple of the outline images from the set and considered coloring them in but then I kinda just liked them plain so I left them alone. The sentiment is from a Level 1 hostess set which is new this spring.

Paper: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip DSP

For those of you who would like to take advantage of Sale-a-Bration, remember that you can always place an order online at anytime or my next order is going in March 1st. Free stamps or accessories are always fun!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here is another card that we made at the Stamp-a-Stack the other night. I CASEd this card from THIS ONE which I saw on Splitcoast. I used the cherries on the pink instead of stars and eliminated the circle only because I didn't want to cut out all of those circles for stamp camp (yes, a wee bit short on time ;). Speaking of being short on time, I just need to digress for a moment to thank Suzie and Michelle who both came a little early on Tuesday to help sort all of the items into the baggies for everyone who attended. Oh, and Suzie even baked some cookies for us (which I think I took out of the oven a little early--oops!) Instead of taking my duties as your demo/dealer seriously and working all morning, I put my cha-cha heels on and went to Zumba! Like I mentioned, I'm very fond of Zumba and can't seem to stay away from the classes. So, again...thanks to Michelle and Suzie for their help in getting everything set up for the class. Now, back to the card. Just Jawing was a new set in the fall which I fell in love with right away even though I didn't really know that I'd ever get much use out of the set. I think the skull and crossbones image is great for teenage girls--very trendy. Maddie fell in love with the card when I was looking at it on SC and pointed at it and said, "Make it!" So, even 2.5 year olds love skulls. Actually, I think she really just loved the glitter. I used Stampin' Up!'s chunky glitter and Crystal Effects for the bow and I believe that was definitely Maddie's favorite part of making her card.

Maddie and Steve are out on a Valentine's Day date and I'm going to go finish the mess I started upstairs. I decided to clean out our pantry and some cabinets--it's amazing the stuff I had buried in there that I uncovered. Does a person really need 12 cans of diced tomatoes sitting around for no apparent reason? Well, they are the fire roasted ones and so tasty...perhaps I should make some Chicken Chili.

Stamps: Just Jawing
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip DSP, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Pink Pirouette (used to stamp the bow before adding the glitter)
Accessories: Crystal Effects, Chunky Glitter, Chocolate Chip Wide Grosgrain Ribbon

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaacccccccckkkkkkkk! Again.

Well, it's been a long time, hasn't it? I am thinking I may have about three readers left and I'm sure you're all thrilled to see a post from me ;-) After a long hiatus, I had a Stamp-a-Stack last night and let me tell you--it felt good to make some cards and be in such good company. Before I share some of the projects from last night, I'm going to give you a brief synopsis of my life the past few months since I'm always good for off-task behavior.

• I have become addicted to Zumba. If you enjoy dancing and are in the search for a fun workout, you should definitely check it out. Here is a link to one of my favorite routines...I'm thinking I will be able to wear an outfit like hers sometime soon...HA!


• Steve and I are considering building a home...we've been house hunting for two years and it's occurred to us that building may be the best way to go seeing we're pretty particular about what we want. Unfortunately, it's the most expensive way to go so we're not rushing into anything. I am excited about the possibility though...and may have to book like 50 workshops in the next few months in order to help finance my new studio.


• My parents are going through a divorce after being married for 35 years and the whole experience has taught me to appreciate the relationship I have with my husband that much more.


• Madeline continues to be the highlight of my life. She amazes me everyday and I will say the time I have been away from stamping/blogging has given me a lot more time to focus on her everyday! Okay, and go to Zumba. She has become obsessed with Tinkerbell and I am sure I have single-handedly stimulated the economy with my Tinkerbell purchases in the past few months. Now, for those who haven't seen it already on Facebook, here's a video for you to enjoy...my little peanut 'reading' one of her favorite books.
  

I suppose that's enough digression for one day. On to the projects...

Fifth Avenue Floral has got to be my favorite set in the new catalog. Upon first glance in the sampler, it didn't catch my eye to be honest. I loved the sample that was displayed in the new catty with the set and then knew I had to have it. This card was a quick one inspired by that sample. I can see myself using this set to make my own background paper in the future. The sentiment is from a retired set called Fancy Flexible Phrases.

Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White

Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Chocolate Chip Twill, Curly Label Punch

Don't you hate when you buy a stamp set and you KNOW it was really because of ONE stamp that you wanted? Yes, that's what happened here with Party Hearty. I just loved these little party hats and while there are plenty of other cute images in the set, I can honestly say I just wanted these hats! I picked the set up when it was on sale a few months ago so it's all good. This card has a pretty basic layout...one of my favorites. A little DSP, a little ribbon...good to go!

Stamps: Party Hearty (SU!) and sentiment from Papertrey Ink

Paper: PTI White Cardstock, Maine Blueberry DSP by SU!

Ink: Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Old Olive

Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon

I have a few other cards from last night to share, but Maddie is up from her nap and we are going to go the the Children's Museum and make a couple of deliveries SO, I'll be back with more crafty goodness later!

Shifting Priorities and a Sale

I know I've been away for a long time and slowly but surely I'm trying to find my way back to my stamping life. I've had some things going on which have caused me to put my stamping on the backburner...not to mention the holidays just being busy as always. Sometimes things happen and we're pulled in so many directions and something has got to give--for me, it was the stamping. After a few months of reflection, I've decided that I need to downsize my business because I don't see that I can keep going at the rate I was going in light of everything else going on these days. I believe I must be one of the most fortunate demos out there because most of my customers are friends first and they've been amazingly supportive. I know some of you are reading this and I hope you know how grateful I am to have a family away from home with all of you. You've given me shoulders to cry on, hands to hold and even help with ridiculous projects (FILING)....I am blessed that is for sure. SO, I'm not sure what will happen with the blog...I may just post when I have a project to share...we'll see. Maybe I'll have time to get back into the challenges--I miss those and the people who participated. It was a nice little virtual community I was in for a minute there and I'd like to get back into it at some point!

Well, having said all of that...I have some stuff I'm selling and JoLynn has a BUNCH of stuff so check us out at http://karenstamps.shutterfly.com/

Quick Card

We had a gorgeous weekend here in Central Illinois and I was out with Maddie or by myself shopping for most of the weekend. No crafting going on around here! I just wanted to share this card that I made for World Cardmaking Day last weekend using some old favorites. Bali Breeze is a retired DSP that I thought would work well for this fun card since it has such great colors in it. I used a stamp from a little set called, It's All Good which I purchased with the last catalog. Sometimes I get so caught up in new purchases that I need to force myself to dig through my stash for stamps that are sorely neglected. I like that this stamp can be used with our new Scallop Square Punch for a cute focal point. It's always good to discover how old and new can work together :-)

Scallop Circle Card

Here's the other card I completed for the color challenge on Tuesday. I had a workshop last night and this was one of the make and takes. The Scallop Circle Die is a great investment if you enjoy making cards this shape--I've gotten a lot of use out of mine and am thinking about getting the smaller scallops as well. The best thing about this particular card is that it will still fit in a standard envelope so you don't have to worry about extra postage--yeah!

*Note: Since SU! doesn't sell markers to coordinate with the new in colors (GRRR), I used a dampened Qtip to clean off words that I wanted to color in with a different color on the sentiment.

Stamps: A Little Birdie Told Me, Full of Life
Paper: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Hawaii Papaya
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango, Old Olive

Prework Layout

I finally got my prework layout done for that online class I've been yakkin' about this past week. Cathy Zielske provided this basic layout and asked us to make a page that represented us as scrapbookers. Some things you might not be able to read say, 'documenting family', 'clean & simple' and 'collector'. The arrows represent the fact that I'm always pulled in different directions and never actually scrapbook as much as I would like to. All of the DSPs are from Stampin' Up!--I used a couple of prints from the Bella Rose collection and the Chocolate Chip is from the patterns pack. I love that we have a Chocolate Chip collection in this catalog--one can never have enough Chocolate Chip paper, right?

CC187: Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip

Good morning! I have had a productive morning since I got up so early to go work out this morning. Maddie woke up when I left so I gave her some milk and tucked her back into bed and she is still asleep! So, I made two cards for today's color challenge :-) I am saving one to share since I'm considering using it for a make and take for an upcoming workshop. So, let's talk about this card. You will notice right away that I used my favorite Sizzix Die--Top Note. I tried something a little different which I've seen on Splitcoast and that was to make a patchwork of papers and then cut them out. I started with a sheet of cardstock measuring 4" x 5" that I ran through the Xyron. I then cut 1" squares out of a variety of papers from the Hawaiian Papaya Collection and stuck them onto the white cardstock in no particular order. Once I had all of the squares adhered, I ran that piece through the Big Shot with the Top Note Die. Now, I don't know how often I'd do that since the adhesive could muck up the die...I might hand trim the piece if I felt like there was a problem with the adhesive on the die. I ended up cutting that piece in half because I thought the patchwork was a little busy for the sentiment I was using. One of the new accessories I used on this card is a little Filigree brad. These silver flowers are SO cute and I absolutely love them! They're easy to miss in the catalog so you'll have to check them out--there are a few different styles of designer brads shown on page 184 and they're all so fun! Sorry, you'll probably need all of them so just consider this a warning :-)

Symmetrical Layout

Here's my layout for the second sketch I mentioned in yesterday's post. I have trouble embellishing because I like the clean look of the photos by themselves. There is a project gallery for everyone taking the class so I'm going to spend some time looking at how others embellish effectively. Adding 'stuff' to my pages is something that does not come easy to me...I am really good at buying embellishments, just not using them. I broke down and used my own handwriting for the layout--not that thrilled with the look, but I'm going to leave it. I think I may change the background paper to either a print or a different color...the Kraft isnt' working for me here...or maybe the journaling panel should be switched out to a different color...what would you suggest?