Autumn Harvest

I received some foam stamps from a friend at our last stamping night. I had recently picked up some acrylic paint and bags for the kids to stamp on for trick or treating with these particular foam stamps but was curious what it would look like on paper. 

I really love the results! Its goopy and spotty and really fun. I added some swirls from CHF's Beautiful set. It adds a nice "cinderella" feel to it. Kind of magical yet harvesty. This is still the 4x4 size. I'm kinda liking this size. It's so cute. And I think this might be it for my "halloween" cards this year. I'm going to use every one of them too. 

Happy Autumn Harvest Everyone!

Deets:

Stamps: Beautiful CHF, Random Pumpkin foam stamp, First Fruits PTI (sentiment)

Ink: SU! Old Olive, Close To Cocoa

Paper: Stampers Select White, Dark Chocolate PTI, SU! Pumpkin Pie

Accessories: Scallop Punch, Raffia, Pumpkin Acrylic Paint

Dancing Monsters

When I was digging for halloween stuff I found these papers that I used last year for some scrapbooking. They were in a scrap pad from Michael's. I love the dancing monsters. So funny.

I used again the Faux Ribbon set from PTI. I stamped the circles in white craft ink and then put black glitter lines inbetween. The Happy Halloween sentiment is from paper too. And the black raffia is what I had left over from Ronin's Pirate Party bags. 

Final size is 4x4. Such a cute little size

Deets: 

Stamps: Faux Ribbon PTI
Ink: SU! White Craft

Paper: SU! Pumpkin Pie,  Basic Black, Assorted Patterned Paper

Accessories: Black Raffia, Martha Stewart Glitter

Trick or Tweet

I realized that I have ZERO halloween stamps. Well, actually I didn't just realize it, I have always known this, but I forget since it's such a seasonal thing. See, this is something I have chosen to do because, trust me, there are plenty of sets. out. there. i. love. (yes, each one of those is a different link to a set).  But I figure, how many halloween cards will I really send? Ok, I will send a few this year, but I'm purdy sure they will laugh laugh laugh at me and all my sillyness.  It's ok though because I realized it could be a challenge for me to come up with something out of nothing.  I was digging through my stash to see what I could do to make a halloween card and this is what I came up with :

The "Trick or Tweet" sentiment is from Birds of a Feather, so I do have one halloween-ish stamp. It makes for a cutesy card. I picked some halloween colors to go with it and then decided to add glitter at the end. Note to self: add glitter before the ribbon. Less mess.

** I forgot to say that the lines were made with PTI's Faux Ribbon Set.

It's fun to make halloween cards. Too bad we don't have a reason to send more of them. Maybe next year I will splurge on a set. That sounds like a goulish thing to do.

Deets:

Stamps: Birds of a Feather PTI, Faux Ribbon

Ink: SU! Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Papertrey Ink Plum Pudding

Paper: Papertrey Ink Stampers Select, SU! Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black

Accessories: Martha Stewart Glitter and Glue Pen, Scallop Punch, Tai Pan Ribbon

A Great Cause and Some Seriously Great Blog Candy

Head on over to Carolyn's blog RIGHT NOW to see what amazing things she is doing for the Alzheimer's Association.  Her grandmother passed away in June from complications of this disease and she has just release a new stamp set Whimsical Autumn where ALL proceeds go to the Association. Along with this she has reached out to the stamping world and received donations from the most amazing companies to collect come seriously great blog candy to give away to one lucky winner. Your jaw will drop, as did mine.

All you have to do is read her post here and follow the directions. One of the best parts about it is you get to make a card (can't complain there) and send it to a caretaker or a person affected with Alzheimer's. Now that is just a great thing! 

So here is the card I made for the staff at the Artman Home (the home where her grandmother lived)

A little shimmer, autumn and gratitude all in one. 

So go on over even just to check it out. Its a great cause and some seriously great blog candy.

Etsy Shop

Well, I finally did it. I have officially opened my very own Etsy Shop. I'm excited!! Come check it out at the link in my right side bar, or HERE  I have two things selling right now. And will add things as I make them, so check back often. Also, the shop is still a work in progress as is this blog (I will get a banner eventually people!) So check back to see that too. 

Now, the schtuff for sale...

 

Cowboy Star Book:

It comes with journaling tags and places for pictures. See the shop for more detailed pics. It's made with really cute vintage cowboy papers and embellishments.  Stay tuned for a boy/train theme and a girl/flower theme. These are really great for new moms that don't scrapbook and want something to document their baby's first year of milestones. Use one side of the page is to journal and the other side is for pictures. Full page measures 4x8"

And,  a set of 6 "Thanks A Hoot" Owl Cards + Envies (in plastic box)

These were made with a friend in mind who said she wanted to see some owls. So here you go!

I have posted a few more pictures at the shop so you can see some details on each item, so check it out!

Etsy is a fun place for all the handmade goods you could care to buy.  I have some other friends that have shops there. If you have a hankerin' to buy something great, check them out too.

Here   and  Here.

Happy Shopping!

k

I won!!!!

I am in SHOCK. I actually won some blog candy. And I am so so SO excited!!!  Barbara Schram over at her blog Explore. Dream. Discover. had a big giveaway. It's been a week long adventure of SO many talented ladies who have been having candy giveaways on their blogs in celebration of Sharon Johnson 1 yr. blog anniversary at No Time To Stamp? I love her blog because just as with everything else in life,  I seem to have no time to stamp! (although, I do my best)

 She has quick and easy ideas and tutorials on how to get amazing results with little time.

Thank you to Barbara for the giveaway. I can't wait to start using all the fabulous stuff!!!

Christmas Card Extravaganza!

I haven't posted in such a long time and realized it's because I haven't sat down to make a card in a really long time! Today I decided I HAD to do something. I knew I could have a bit of time during baby's nap and sat down at noon when the phone rang. My real estate agent was asking to bring someone by at 2p. I looked around the house and realized EVERY room was a disaster, and new instantly that card making would have to wait... again.

We were frantic (the kids and I) getting things pulled together and after a full day of errand running I just couldn't keep myself away any longer. At the time of day when I should be focusing on food, kids, baths and such, I found myself pulling out stamps instead.

I finally received my Hero Arts Stunning Snowflakes Design Block in the mail last week. (it took over a month to get here... ugh!) When I first saw it I thought it would be the perfect thing to make quick and easy, yet elegant holiday cards. I picked up a few different mediums in which to try the stamp and played around tonight.

The first one I did was with regular ink. I think it turned out pretty nice. Simple, but it seems a bit naked still. I think a little hardware is in order. I have had this SU! Not Quite Navy for a long time, but am just now gaining a real love for it.  It's really striking on white.

The next medium I really wanted to try was acrylic paint. I have seen Pine do this all the time and when I went to my local craft store they were having a clearance sale on acrylics but nothing was organized into colors. I dug through and I picked up what I thought was white paint only to find out its has an opal finish. Which is great because it gives a nice shimmer to it, but I was hoping for more of a thick white on craft look. I really like how this card turned out and hope to use more paint in the future. The kids really LOVED the paint and thought it was cool.
I had also picked up some Stampendous Crystal Snow. Which is glittery and snowy all in one. I love it on certain things, but I think this Pure Poppy is just too much for it to stand out. I really love glittery snowflakes, aren't they great?
Again I used only ink on this one but stamped some swirls in Aqua Mist first and then Dark Chocolate snowflakes over it.  I was really excited about the making this shabby chic but then I really dropped the ball. I put some gold Perfect pearls on the bottom but decided I hated it and tried to scrape it off and then put some crystal snow over it. Basically it looks like I dipped it in caramel and licked it off. mmmmmm. that sounds good. 

Also, I sponged some Dark Chocolate on the edges, but over did it. My poor card looks like it was dropped in dirt...and caramel!!!  Very shabby, but not so chic!  I have ordered the scallop edge punch from SU! and plan on re-making this card with it at the bottom and with a little more wisdom. And then I will eat an ice cream sundae.

And last, my good friend, and personal SU! Demonstrator Ann taught me about Perfect Pearls (I think she uses a different brand though). She did a great tutorial on how to use them and I thought it would be perfect for my snowflakes. I picked some up from the local craft store with a GREAT coupon and really do love them. Today the sun was streaming through the window and you could see Perfect Pearls floating all around the room. Even the baby was fascinated by it. On this card I actually used Copper and Gold and swirled them around. I set it with some hairspray. I really love the look of it. Very simple, yet elegant. And only one layer so we don't irk the postman.  Now I am realizing I have tried out so many different kinds, by the time I find something I really love I will have made more than I need!! That's obsession for ya.

Thanks for stopping by!

k

Star Book

I ran into this great tutorial for a StarBook from Kristina Werner at kwernerdesignblog. I just love her blog. So many great ideas.  You can check out her post on it HERE. They are really easy to make, although they do take a little bit of time. But the results are absolutely worth it.

I used some great paper by K&Company called Berry Sweet. I love their papers. These are bright, fruity and fun.

I matted the labele on the front for a friend who is turning 4 and put some Berry Sweet embellishments on it. All of which were 40% off at A.C. Moore. LOVE when they have sales!

Here is the final product completely open. You cover the pages with journaling and photos and display it in its open star shape tied by the ribbon. (That is if you actually have space to do so.)
The different colors and patterns of the paper are what give your star interest. You can find and download the instructions from Kristina Werner to make your own. Go on, I know you want to. It's so fun!

Deets:

Stamps: Birthday Basics (PTI), Random letter stamps from I don't know where!

Ink: Chartreuse (Pallete) Berry Sorbet (PTI) Basic Black SU!

Paper: Berry Sweet (K&Company), Lemon Tart, Pure Poppy, Stampers Select White (PTI)

Accessories: Berry Sweet felt and chipboard Embellishments, American Craft Ribbon, Terrifically Tacky Tape