Stamps, Paper, and Ink

It's Sew Suite

It's time again for the oh sew SUITE collection with the fun retro colors and feminine accessories! This card features the Sweet Stitches Designer Fabric which has been tucked away waiting to be used until now.

 
The fabric was such fun to use! The turquoise pattern with buttons and the Tangerine Tango print are both fabric. I ironed on the Fabric Adhesive and cut them out using my circle cutter and the Big Shot. I think that little girl is so cute I wanted to just feature her as an image. The fabric gives this card a wonderful texture, but is fuzzy to photograph. It's definitely a good idea to click on the picture to see the larger view.

I played and played with the sentiment and finally decided the Modern Label punch might look just like (DUH!) a sewing label peeking out from behind the button.It's the little things that count!

And of course I had to use Pompom Trim. You might wonder how to adhere that to the circle base. I used a few glue dots, adhered them to the white circle, winding the trim as I went around. Then it was easy to add the button on top.

Have you tried making circle cards with the Big Shot?  Here's a tip: I actually use three layers for my scalloped circle or square cards. Two layers are the card base, and have a small portion that is NOT run through the Big Shot to make the spine. Then I cut one more layer and attach it over top so the whole shape is visible from the front.

It's been sew suite to share with you. :-> If you have enjoyed today's card, please take a minute to let me know.

If you haven't yet ordered these coordinating accessories from the Occasions Mini, don't wait! Contact me today or shop at my online store.

    

Challenges for this card: the fabulous Mojo Monday Sketch 180, and The Paper Players challenge to use fabric. Be sure to check them out!

Supplies~  all supplies by Stampin' Up!

Stamps: You're A Gem, Sew Suite
Paper:  Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight
and Ink: Basic Black

Accessories:   Sweet Stitches Designer Paper, Sweet Stitches Designer Fabric, Modern Label Punch, Bigz Scallop Circle and Scallop Circles #2 and Tasteful Trim Dies, Taffeta Ribbon, Pompom Trim, Buttons

Do you have any questions about our products, my projects/classes, or being a demonstrator? I am happy to answer them, just send me an e-mail, you'll find it HERE

Candy Cane Cutie!

I love the Candy Cane Christmas paper and matching fabric.

Here's a gift set I made for my hostesses this month. The idea was presented by Pam Morgan at Convention and I just had to make a set to see for myself how cute it is!

I took a $1 mug and added a couple mittens of the Candy Cane Christmas Decor Elements available in the Holiday Mini. Do you know, with this set of Decor Elements, you can make about 10 gifts for $14.95?

The coaster made from Candy Cane Christmas fabric and the matching tag are a great example of the fun projects you can make with our coordinating supplies.

Have a great stamping day! Your friendly comments have been a heartwarming treat for me. Thanks!

 

 

 

 

Need supplies? Order from me at my online store  HERE

Got questions? I am happy to answer them, just send me an e-mail, you'll find it HERE

Joy at Christmas

I hope yesterday's post about Josie made you chuckle. It made me chuckle to write it! Ruth Ann thinks I should tell Josie's side of the story, HA! That would be hilarious. I do want to reassure you that we love our little puppy!

I was pleased to get so much input and encouragement from your comments and I thank you for each and every one. I appreciate Gena C., who said "I'd like to see more of your class projects and techniques."  I will try to follow up on your suggestion, starting today!

One factor about my classes and workshops is that I often CASE the great projects I find online for those. Sometimes when I design I forget how to keep things simple and there are so many talented stampers who do that so well. I sometimes want to teach everything at one class and put way too much into an over the top card!

Here's the card we did recently for my Vintage Christmas class. See what you think. It's a simpler version of THIS card.

 The Joy sentiment from the Punched Perfect set fits the vintage style, especially when decked out with a seam binding bow knot and a Glitter Brad. I cut out a 2" circle for the mat.

The fabric was so easily cut with the Top Note Die and ironed onto the card stock using our Fabric Adhesive Roll. I love that stuff! Can't get enough of the Vintage look of the Christmas Collage and Deck the Halls DSP collection.

Distressing tip: Sponging Very Vanilla card stock with Crumb Cake ink adds a very very subtle aged look. For just a bit more depth of color, sponge with Soft Suede ink.

Watercolor tip: I used a very light wash of color for the holly and berries in the Christmas Collage image. It was stamped with Basic Brown ink (retired). You don't want to entirely fill in the images, just add a hint of color with deeper shading in the center on the leaves.

If you love this card, you'll be pleased to know that while it looks like it took hours to make, it can be made or relatively quickly and would be fairly flat to mail. Contact me if you'd like a list of supplies or would like to order what you need to make it.

Thanks for stopping by today!

 

Deck the Halls with FABRIC!

Aren't you glad it's Wednesday? How this week has flown by! I'm posting ahead so you'll get this bright and early.

I know you've been waiting to see the rest of the peek I showed you on Monday. Here's my sample made for my Vintage Christmas class using our gorgeous Deck the Halls fabric. I used the Top Note to die cut the fabric and I love the textured look and touchableness of this card. (Since I didn't see it underlined in red, touchableness must really be a word, right? Nope, just checked.) Just imagine how nice it feels to handle this one.

Besides using a TON of embellishments from the Holiday Mini, this card highlights quite a few techniques for the vintage style. Here are a few tips:

• For Vintage, you can never go wrong with the Bells & Boughs set. To be sure, it's one of my favorites of the new Christmas sets.

• When working with the fabric, the Big Shot Fabric Adhesive Roll is a must! There are other options for adhering fabric to fabric, but you really need this adhesive to secure your fabric to card stock.

• The Big Shot makes a nice clean cut using the Top Note die. You may still want to trim any excess threads before you iron the fabric to the card stock.
• For Vintage color combos, choose rich, jewel tones.
• Vary the textures and add depth by sponging and distressing the card stock. For this card, I also highlighted the main image by cutting two layers of holly leaves (the technique is called tole) and popping them up. For a close-up of the details, go to THIS post.
• Crystal Effects, Glass glitter, an Antique Brad, Crocheted Lace and Waffle Paper all add an aged feel to this card.

 Thanks so much for stopping by on your way through the day to spend a few minutes here. If I can be of help with your stamping questions, just let me know! I'd love to hear from you. What do you think about the fabric?

 

I've been playing...

Don't you love the weekends where you have just the right balance between working and playing? We had a great weekend and for me it was a perfect mix. I spent over 5 hours cleaning out my schoolroom  and re-organizing my craft room. They are the same room. (For those of you new to my blog, I finished home-schooling last May.) To tell you the truth, I began this process in early July before our puppy Josie joined our family. The organizing came to an abrupt halt as realities of having an adorable puppy set in, LOL! The boxes and clutter became easier to ignore and walk around, but I **FINALLY** got a chunk of time to do it.

Ahh, the bliss of those neat shelves and knowing where everything belongs again. It's officially now, my CRAFT room.

Lest you think you'd like a photo of my stamping space, er..., I decline, but there is a project share at the end of this post!

Today I did some playing with Josie and her NEW toy, a frisbee of her very own.

Now on to some crafty play...

While rummaging among the less desirable things that I had squirreled away in my drawers (like a biology dissecting kit and forlorn looking bag of rocks that had been a 'collection' )~ I also found the 90 chipboard coasters that I was going to do something with *some*day. I hear you laughing, I know you do have *some* day stashes of your own!

I made myself a luggage tag just for fun, have a peek!

I used my favorite new love which is fabric for stamping! Using our fabric adhesive makes it so easy. Somehow I thought the Wonder Under product that I have tucked away in a drawer somewhere would work fine with our fabric. Not!

Here's how it works: I cut the fabric and the adhesive to size, and ironed them together. Then I ran them through the Big Shot using the Serif Essentials die. After peeling away the backing, all you need to adhere the die cut to your projects is an iron on a low setting.

This project went together in just a few minutes and would make a great gift!

Thanks for visiting today. Please keep your comments coming, I love hearing what you think about my posts, and I apprecate every one. Maybe you have an idea what I should do with the other 89 coasters. <g>

If you have any questions about the supplies I used, just send me an e-mail. I'll be back tomorrow to show you what else I made today while I was playing....