Halloween Somethings

Happy Halloween and Happy Friday!!

Our challenge this week over on STAMP SOMETHING is of course, Halloween Somethings! Share your spooky and spectacular Halloween ideas with us and you'll be entered in our blog candy chance! This week we have a special blog candy offer too, one lucky winner will be chosen to design along with us for two challenges in November! So for a chance at a guest design spot, be sure to submit your best work and something that has the theme of Halloween! Have fun!

My project is one I made for my son's kindergarten class. They are having a party today to celebrate Halloween and parents were asked to supply some items. So what better than candy corn treat bags for the kiddos and some nugget candies for the teachers!

For the treat bags, I stamped the cellophane bags with black Staz-On ink and then filled each with candy corn candies and tied on a scalloped circle tag with black hemp twine. The images and sentiments are from Haunting Halloween. I used watercolor crayons and aquapainters to color the image. I had to make 20 of these, so I kept them simple!

The nuggets have been wrapped with Halloween themed designer paper and then packaged in metal tins. I wrapped some ribbon around the tin and added a tag similar to the bag tags. These are two very simple and easy to create Halloween treat ideas!

Thanks for stopping by, be sure to check out all the Halloween haunts the design team has created this week! If you would like to be considered for the guest spot blog candy, be sure to have your project entered on or before Thursday, November 6th by 7pm EST! We'll announce the winner that evening! Happy Stamping!! :)

edit to add:

Hi again! Our fellow DT member and friend Cindy, is experiencing some blog troubles and technical difficulties at the moment. She made this fabulous card for our challenge today, but it might be hard for you to see it on her blog. It has been posted, however it's showing up at the end of her page. We hope that things will work out for her soon and everything will be back up and running as normal!

Please hang in there Cindy! And if you are a friend or follower of Cindy's blog, be sure to keep checking in. And if you like amazingly creative ideas, be sure to stop by her blog often too! You won't be disappointed! :)

A Sweet Treat Idea

Hello All!

I have a quick and simple project idea to share today. This is something I first saw on Emily's blog and in then again in the newest Stampin' Success magazine. It's an altered treat jar!

I got this jar from IKEA, but you could use any small jar to make this candy treat. I used my Coluzzle, Scalloped Circle Nestabilities, Scalloped Circle Punch, and 1 3/8" Circle Punch to make the layered topper for the jar. The image is from Haunting Halloween and has been colored with watercolor crayons and an aquapainter.

The M&Ms are really fun and vibrant colors for Halloween so I went with a color combo that was as close to these colors as I could get. I used Black, Eggplant, Kiwi, and White cardstock and then added striped orange grosgrain ribbon. The final step was to fill the jar with the candy! Pretty quick and easy! :)

Be sure to check back tomorrow for a new STAMP SOMETHING challenge! You can bet it will be a spooky one too! Happy Stamping! :)

Oh yeah....my good friend and fellow blogger Erin is celebrating her first blogoversary and she's offering up a great blog candy prize! Head over and check it out! Happy blogoversary Erin! Yay!

Blogoversary Winner!!

Hello All!

First, Thanks so much to each of you who participated in my blogoversary celebration and who generously linked my blog! I had an amazing amount of new visitors and wonderful comments. Minus a couple double entries, there were 98 participants!

Second, I'm sorry I didn't have the winner posted last night as I had originally said I would, we had unexpected plans that kept us out late.

I wish you all good luck as random.org chooses a winner! and the winner is.....
Here are your random numbers: 22
Timestamp: 2008-10-30 12:37:36 UTC

That is bolha who said...
Congratulations on your blog anniversary! Thanks for sharing your candy with us. I linked you up HERE.x Natasha x

Congrats Natasha! Please contact me with your mailing info (my email is on the sidebar) and I will get that right out to you!

Thanks again everyone! I hope this next year is as wonderful as this first year has been!

Blogoversary Party!!

Note: This post will remain on top until Wednesday, October 29th! Please scroll down for newer posts! Thanks! :)

Hello Friends!!

Today is my blogoversary and I'm celebrating! I can't believe it's already been a year since I started this little blog. I've met truly wonderful people with amazing talents. It's been a joy to visit each of you and to be inspired by your work! And thank you to my loyal visitors and friends, I love to read all the comments you leave me. You're the best!

Now on to the celebration! In honor of my blogoversary one lucky winner will get a special gift from me, all the goodies you see in these two photos! There's lots of fun stuff too!

There's....

3 sheets of SU! die cut sticker embellishments, an assortment of SU! note cards in 3 different shapes and sizes with matching envelopes, a sheet of decorative SU! labels, 10 sheets of 6x6 SU! designer paper, alphabet stickers, a tube of glitter, a package of metallic eyelets, a container of colored eyelets, 2 bags of various punched paper embellishments, a packet of glitter dots, a SU! slit punch, a brand new set of Close to My Heart stamps, and 2 clear acrylic stamp sets!

So, want to know how you enter? Simple....first, post a note and a link on your blog to my blog telling your readers about this blogoversary celebration. Then post a comment on this post letting me know you linked to my blog and you'll be entered. That's it! Pretty easy right!

This blog candy offer is open to everyone! I will mail to anywhere! I will draw one random winner on Wednesday, October 29th at 7pm EST. I will used random.org and announce the winner after the drawing!

Thanks for visiting and good luck to everyone! Happy Blogoversary! :)

Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #63

Hello Again!

Wow, two posts in one day! I just finished a card for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge and I thought I would share it with you. I haven't done one of her sketches in a while. I wanted to stamp today, but needed some direction to get started and this sketch worked perfectly! If you want to play along with this sketch challenge you have until tomorrow morning to enter.

This card started out as a Halloween card, but then I decided to just make a Autumn card with the thank you sentiment. I already have too many Halloween cards and not enough people to send them to.

I used the stamp set Autumn Harvest to complete this card. The background was stamped with leaves and acorns. The main images were stamped in Chocolate Chip ink and then watercolored with watercolor crayons and an aquapainter.

The cardstock colors are Close to Cocoa, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Summer Sun, and Old Olive. My embellishments are a scalloped circle, paper piercing, gel pen dots, striped ribbon, and a photo corner. The sentiment, from All Holidays, was stamped directly on the ribbon with Chocolate Chip ink.

Thanks for stopping by today. Be sure to enter my blogoversary candy draw, you have until tomorrow night at 7pm EST! Have a great Tuesday, happy stamping!! :)

Layers of Color Card

Happy Tuesday!

Thanks for all of the wonderful blogoversary wishes, you are all very kind! And thanks too for the many links to the candy offer. Good luck to everyone! I will draw the winner on Wednesday evening, be sure to check back! :)

I have a card to share today, one I made for my gallery over at Layers of Color. This card is very simple with the main focus being on this beautifully intricate stamp. This stamp is from the set Fleur Heart. I stamped it with Navy ink and then watercolored the entire image with Baja Breeze ink. The cardstock colors are Night of Navy, Baja Breeze, and Vanilla. I added a few flowers and brads as an accent.

Be sure to stop by Layers of Color and check out all the fabulous design team creations!

Have a great day! Happy Stamping! :)

Something For the Birds!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. I've been busy this week with household stuff and getting some cards done for my Layers of Color gallery as well as a workshop. Hope you've all had a good week!

We have a new challenge posted today on STAMP SOMETHING! This week our challenge is being hosted and sponsored by There She Goes Stamps. The challenge theme is Something For the Birds, make a project using bird images. Use any size, shape, color, type, style, anything you wish that has something to do with birds. If you play along, you'll have the chance to win a set of stamps donated by There She Goes Stamps! Head over to STAMP SOMETHING and check out the challenge and the For the Birds design team samples!

For my card, I used some images from the Here for You set from There She Goes. I started by stamping the flower image in Versamark and sponged on pastel chalks. Then I stamped the bird images in Baja Breeze ink.

This card uses Sahara Sand, Night of Navy, White, Baja Breeze, and Urban Garden cardstock and papers. I paper pierced the image piece and roughed up the edges with my distressing tool. The final accent was to frame the sentiment with hodgepodge and brads.

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great weekend. Happy stamping... something for the birds! :)

A Little Boo

Happy Tuesday!

Just a quick post to share a Halloween card with you today. This is one I made last week while doing some workshop prep. I'm not sure that I'll make this at my workshop, but I like the way it turned out. I haven't made too many Halloween cards this year, but I think I need to make more....

This card uses Big Deal Alpha and Haunting Halloween stamp sets. I used Black, Pumpkin, and White cardstock. After stamping the images, I colored them with watercolor crayons and an aquapainter. The final touches are stitching, brads, and hemp twine.

Oh and Rach of Papercrafts by Rach is offering up some fabby blog candy, and it includes a Whiff of Joy stamp. Head over and check it out!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day, happy stamping!! :)

Friend to Friend

Hello!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. It was pretty chilly here so we ran errands and stayed in most of the weekend. I'm not quite ready for the cold yet, so I hope it warms up a bit. My husband and I did get the chance to have dinner out with our good friends, Erin and Raymond, on Saturday night and this is a card I made for Erin.

I made this card using Pocket Silhouettes from Stampin' Up!. I stamped the image in versamark and sponged on chalk pastels. Then used Sahara Sand, Baja Breeze, and Urban Garden DSP to complete this card. The embellishments are scalloped edge punch, silver hodgepodge, felt flowers, grosgrain ribbon, paper piercing, and brads. I also stamped the butterfly from Essence of Love and cut it out and used crystal effects to adhere it to the hodgepodge piece. The final accent was white gel pen dots along the scalloped edge.

Thanks for taking a look, have a great Monday! Happy Stamping!! :)

Sketch Something

Happy Friday!

We have a new challenge posted over on STAMP SOMETHING and this week we are please to share a sketch challenge, designed by Katharina Frei! We also have fabulous blog candy up for grabs, donated by Katharina and Whiff of Joy stamps! Head over there now and check it out! While you're there be sure to get a peek of the terrific design team samples too! We have a new design team member starting this week too, it's Lisa Henke of My Little Creative Escape. Lisa has helped out in the past as a guest designer and we love her work so much we wanted her to be a weekly contributor! Welcome Lisa!



This is Katharina's sketch, pretty easy right! So get out your supplies and make a card using this sketch. Enter your card by 7pm EST next Thursday, October 23rd and you'll be entered for a chance to win a beautiful Whiff of Joy stamp!


This is my interpretation on Katharina's sketch. I started with Riding hood Red cardstock as my base. I layered on So Saffron cardstock and Washington Apple DSP.

My image is a Whiff of Joy stamp called Melinda Blowing Kisses. I stamped her in black Stazon Ink and colored with watercolor crayons and an aquapainter. Her wings have been dusted with crystal effects and glitter. Then to finish off the image, I added some doodling.

The accents here are wide grosgrain ribbon in Saffron and Pumpkin, some silver brads, styled silver hodgepodge, and a designer silver flower with a rhinestone brad. The sentiment is from Short and Sweet.

Thanks for popping over, I hope you'll find some time to stamp something today....maybe even sketch something! Happy Stamping!! :)

Unity Ice Cream

Hello All!

Today is the last day to play along with the STAMP SOMETHING challenge before we post a new challenge tomorrow. Our blog candy sponsor this week just happens to be Unity Stamps! If you play along with the For a Friend challenge over on STAMP SOMETHING you will be entered for a chance to win a set of Unity Stamps! Head over there now, you have until 7pm EST to enter!

In honor of the Unity Stamps blog candy, I thought I would make my first ever Unity Stamp card! The image for this card comes from their Simple Pleasures stamp set.

I started with a base of Chocolate Chip cardstock and layered on some Berry Bliss DSP. Then stamped my image in Chocolate Chip, colored with colored pencils and added crystal effects and glitter. This image piece is mounted on another piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock. The final touches are a photo corner punch, grosgrain ribbon, and a built a brad, and then the red cherry on top!

The sentiment is from Short and Sweet, by Stampin' Up!.

Thanks for stopping by today, have a great day! Stop over at STAMP SOMETHING and enter for your chance to win a Unity Stamp set! Happy Stamping! :)

An Award

Hi All!

I just wanted to make a quick post to share an award I received from a great blogging friend of mine, Vicki of Stamped Smiles! This award is an honor to receive from her, she is a fabulously talented stamper. It really made my day, thanks Vicki! I will display it with pride! I'd also like to say, right back at you Vicki! :)

I'd like to pass this award on to a few blogs that I find lots of inspiration from, they also happen to be good blogging friends. First to Lynn of LW Designs, she always has lovely creations with perfectly colored images, and she leaves the nicest comments. Next, to Catherine of Inksomnia, who is super talented and always has lots of variety on her blog, plus she always takes time to visit and comment. And, lastly to Erin of Scrap Stamp and Be Merry, who has been a wonderful friend, for a long time now. She's a great partner on STAMP SOMETHING too. Check out her blog, she's got some great stuff to share.

Hope to be back later with a card post! :)

Layers of Color Monday - Cornflowers

Happy Monday All!

I'm home from our vacation and the weddings. Yay! I'm so happy to be here and getting things back to normal. I'd like to thank all of you who took the time to pop by for a visit and leave me a comment while I was away. I'll be visiting you soon too! :)

I have two cards to share today that are now posted in my Layers of Color gallery. I've really been enjoying making these cards to showcase the Layers of Color stamps. You can use Layers stamps for almost anything!

These two cards I'm sharing today use the Architectural Blocks stamp set. I made a cornflower as the centerpiece to both cards.

This first card was made using soft color tones from the Rich Regals line from Stampin' Up!. I added paper piercing around the edges and some organdy ribbon as well as a piece of pewter hodgepodge hardware. This card could be turned and used in the other direction too.

This second card uses a brighter color palette, the new In Colors from Stampin' Up!. I found this layout on Splitcoast, but I can't remember which thread it was on. Sorry! The accents here are paper piercing and pewter hodgepodge. This card, like the first one, can also be turned and used in the other direction.

Both of these card are similar in the centerpiece flower and the background accents, but each is also it's own unique design. Layers of Color stamps are great in their versatility.

Thanks for stopping by. Now that I'm home, I'll be stopping by to visit you too. Have a great Monday! Happy Stamping! :)

For a Friend Challenge

Hi Friends!

So today is Friday and that means a new challenge over on STAMP SOMETHING! The challenge theme this week is For a Friend Somethings. Make something with the theme of friend or something that you could give to a friend or something that represents both! Enter your project on or before 7pm EST next Thursday night and you will be eligible for the blog candy drawing!

Head over to STAMP SOMETHING now to see the challenge, blog candy, and all the fabulous design team creations! I regret to say that I didn't not have the chance to complete this challenge before I left for vacation. Sorry! I really look forward to seeing what you all create though! Have fun!

Have a great weekend and happy stamping!! :)

Witching You....

Happy Thursday!

So, we're flying home from San Diego today and then tomorrow we're heading to NY for one more wedding. I hope after this weekend, we can stay home for a while. Vacation is fun, but it's always busy and tiring!


I made this Halloween card last week before we left for vacation. I'm excited that Halloween is just around the corner. I have no one to send Halloween cards to, but it sure is fun to make them.

This card is pretty simple and now looking at it, I'm not happy with the coloring. I used watercolor pencils but for some reason they just don't work well on the white cardstock. Oh well! The cardstock colors are black, white, and Pumpkin Pie. The designer paper is a from a retired pack, can't remember the name. The only embellishing on this card is crystal effects and glitter on the bubbling cauldron.

Sorry that I haven't been by to visit all of you, but I will as soon as we return from our trip. Be sure to stop by tomorrow for the new STAMP SOMETHING challenge. Happy Stamping!! :)

Bloomin' Spring Card

Hello All!

Well, it's Tuesday and right now we are in San Diego enjoying our vacation. Hope you're having a good week too. We're one wedding down and one to go.

I have another spring card to share with you. They are so easy to make, I just had to try another.

This one was made using the stamp set Bloomin' Beautiful. The card is Kraft with Urban Garden DSP added to the bottom for color. I stamped my image and colored it with watercolor crayons and an aquapainter. The bees are cut out and adhered with mono. The embellishments are paper flowers and pearls.

Thanks for popping over! Have a good day and happy stamping!! :)

Layers of Color Monday - Flowers

Happy Monday All!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. It was forecast to be chilly back home, so I happy to be out in San Diego now! :)

I have two cards to share this morning, both are made using Layers of Color stamps and are showcased in my gallery on the Layers of Color site.

This first card was created using the Architectural Block set. Each piece of this rose flower was stamped with one individual stamp, forming a whole flower. I colored the image with a blender pen and re-inkers. The cardstock colors are Cranberry Crisp and Chocolate Chip. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up!'s Fresh Cuts set. I embellished this card with paper piercing and the hodgepodge hardware piece in pewter.

The second card was made using the same stamp set, but with a different floral image. This one is a sunflower and I kept the pieces apart to add the ribbon as a focal point. I also colored this image with a blender pen and re-inkers. The cardstock colors are Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke, and So Saffron.

These are two similarly crafted cards, using the same stamp set, but each creating a very different design.

Hope you like them! Thanks for visiting. Have a great Monday!

Happy stamping!! :)

Fancy Folded Somethings

Happy Friday!

Hope everyone has had a great week and is looking forward to the weekend. We have a new challenge for you on STAMP SOMETHING. This week our design team member Becky is hosting the challenge and wants us to make something that uses a fancy fold. You can make anything you choose, but it has to be more than the typical folded in half card design. Try a new fold or make one up. Post your entry by 7pm EST next Thursday and you'll be entered into the blog candy drawing. Be sure to check out all the folded somethings the design team created too!

Here's my card, it's a holiday spring card. I've seen lots of these cards over the last few months and have been wanting to make one. This week's challenge was the perfect time to give it a try. There is a simple tutorial on Splitcoast, you can find it here.

To make my card, I used River Rock and Dashing designer prints paper, both are retired papers. I also used the retired stamp set Star Santa. I colored the santa image with watercolor pencils and an aquapainter, then added crystal effects and glitter to the fur on his coat. This is a pretty simple card, I wanted the image to say it all!

Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend. Hop on over to STAMP SOMETHING and fancy fold something with us today! Happy stamping and folding! :)

Wedding Gift

So, are you sick of wedding projects yet? I know I am! Ha! :) I have one more wedding themed project to show you though. This one is the wedding shower gift for the wedding we are going to this weekend. I made a set of simple thank you cards in the wedding colors and stamps that I used to make the invitations. Then I made a matching gift bag to hold the cards.

For the cards, I started with a Sahara Sand base and layered on a Very Vanilla embossed piece of cardstock. I used the Swirls embossing folder and the CuttleBug. Then the center piece is Baroque Motifs stamped in Mellow Moss and Soft Sky. The sentiment is from Short and Sweet and has been stamped in Baja Breeze. I had to make 30 of these, so I kept them very simple.

This is how they look bundled together with the envelopes. I just tied them with a piece of Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon and added a hat pin and pearls. I think it makes them look a little more elegant. Hopefully they will stay together for the plane ride! hummm...

This last photo is of the matching gift bag. I used the same cardstock colors and embellished with stamping, dry embossing, felt flowers, pearls, and ribbon.

Well, that's it! Thanks for stopping by. We leave tomorrow, so I wish you all a nice weekend. I'll be stopping by to visit you as soon as we return.

Be sure to stop by on Friday when we post a new challenge on STAMP SOMETHING!

Happy Stamping! :)