Monday, December 20, 2021

Stamp Review Crew - Sweet Little Stockings

Welcome to the Stamp Review Crew's Sweet Little Stockings edition! The "Crew" is made up of a group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators from around the world who pick a stamp set or bundle to highlight on the first and third Mondays of each month, with a bonus hop if there is a fifth Monday. If you landed here from Betty's blog, Kitty Stamps, welcome! There are only four of us today - I think everyone is busy with last minute holiday things.


Sweet Little Stockings is an adorable 22 piece photopolymer set with a coordinating 22 piece die set called Stockings Dies. I love the cute animal images, but even if you aren't into cute animals (and why wouldn't you be?) the three styles of stocking, two wrapped gifts, and assorted accessories are still a great "must have." Sadly, this set is not carrying over, so get it before Jan. 3rd when the current mini ends!


I only had time for one card today, but it features a subject near and dear to my heart. I always wanted to live in the country, have a big old barn and some barn kitties. Well, the first two things happened six years ago, and the barn kitties happened last month!


So without further ado, may I introduce Sandy, Smoky, and Snickerdoodle! Sandy and Snickerdoodle are kind of cream colored, and the only way I can tell them apart is Snickerdoodle is a lot fluffier.


The barn kitties are semi feral, and were dumped with our rescue pup Luke at the church near us. At first they wouldn't even show themselves, but we knew they were around because the food we put out was eaten, and our trail cam showed it was cats and not raccoons eating it. They are slowly warming up, but not to the point where I can even think about petting them. Right now they barely tolerate me watching them eat. 😁 Anyhoo, our fur kid family tripled last month, and we are very happy about that!


That's my share for today, so click NEXT to see what Lou at With a Bow on Top has made!




Sunday, December 19, 2021

The Control Freaks are SHINING!

The Freaky theme this month is SHINE ON - so foils, gold leafing, jewels, Wink of Stella... any way we can dazzle up our creations and dazzle YOU! (You know this is right up my alley!) If you just landed here from Wendy's blog, Wickedly Wonderful Creations, welcome! There are six of us on this hop and I'm sure you will be inspired by the shiny stuff!

My first card uses the Bright Baubles bundle that is retiring in a couple weeks. I thought I'd give Christmas one last hurrah before turning my attention to new goodies. *grin* The Merry Melody embossing folder IS carrying over, and I'm so glad!


I can't read music, but I know which way is up for a treble clef, so I know the music is right side up. After embossing I lightly sponged Whisper White Craft Ink to make the notes pop. The whole time I was making this card, I had Burl Ives singing "Silver and Gold" in my head. 😁


And now it's time for a shiny new year and shiny new catalog, with shiny new goodies! Everything will be available January 4th. This card features the Grassy Grove bundle on page 47. I cut the tree outline from the lightest Brushed Metallic Cardstock and the deer from the darkest.


I love how easy it is to make a sunrise (or sunset) with Blending Brushes! I used Balmy Blue, Mango Melody, and Calypso Coral, with Mossy Meadow greenery in the foreground.


My last card REALLY takes shiny to a whole different level! This card features the Rainbow of Happiness bundle on page 18. The rainbow was die cut from, wait for it.... Rainbow Glimmer Paper. Heh. But what takes it over the top is the Mother of Pearl Specialty Paper. 


It's sooooo spectacular in real life! (I borrowed the sunburst from Sharing Sunshine, which is in the annual catalog.)


That's all from me. Up next is Debbie, at Debbie Henderson Designs. You might need to grab your sunglasses before heading over there.


 


Saturday, December 18, 2021

CCM Saturday Blog Hop - Winter Wonderland


Today's Create With Connie & Mary Saturday Blog Hop theme is frosty and snowy, and this is the last CCM Saturday blog hop of 2021. Our next hop will be on New Year's Day, Jan. 1, 2022! Sadly, the way the weather has been lately, I don't think we are going to get any snow before the end of the year. And we certainly won't be having a white Christmas like we did last year. I just hope we get at least one good snow this winter, so I can see how our new pup reacts to it. We know our other dog, May, loves it and every indication is that Luke will, too, because he sure loves the cold weather!


So my card today celebrates all things snowy, from snowflakes to snowmen, but with a major (for me) twist - it's a single layer card with no embellishments. *GASP!* I never make single layer cards. The more layers the merrier as far as I'm concerned. But this snowman begged to be the sole focus of the card and who was I to say no? I stamped him in Basic Gray and created a mask so I could add the Balmy Blue background to make his snowy white self stand out.


Since it is a single layer card, I couldn't use Stampin' Blends to color his nose, hat & scarf, but Stampin' Write Markers don't bleed through so that's what I used. The shimmery snowflakes were created by cutting a mask from a thick piece of copy paper with the snowflake die in the Cabin Dies, and applying Shimmery White Embossing Paste with a palette knife. The little stamped snowflakes around our snowy friend were enhanced with a Stampin' Chalk Marker.


That's my share for today. Click the Next button to jump over to Libby Fens at Libby Stamps, or the Back button to see what Lori at Loritamarie Crafts has made!

Stampin' Up! products used:

  • Stamps: Snowman Season
  • Paper: Basic White Thick
  • Ink: Basic Gray and Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pads, Stampin' Chalk Marker, plus Fresh Freesia and Pale Papaya Stampin' Write Markers
  • Accessories: Cabin Dies, Shimmery White Embossing Paste, Blending Brushes






Saturday, December 11, 2021

CCM Saturday Blog Hop - Wishing You a Merry Christmas


Today's Create With Connie & Mary Saturday Blog Hop theme is We Wish You a Merry Non-traditional Color Christmas! I've been having fun this year with the "other than red & green" colors, and today is a perfect example. What could be more different than Granny Apple Green and Bermuda Bay?!


Naturally, I had to color the pup to resemble (a little bit) our new stinker puppy Luke. He's a handful, but such a sweetheart. If that was Luke peeking out of the stocking, he'd be wondering if the greeting label tastes good, and he'd give it a try. He chews everything, including the arm rest in the back seat of my car. 😞


I enjoyed coloring the images with Stampin' Blends, and used the Light Bermuda Bay to add some color to the snowflake as well. The measurements are: Embossed white panel 2-1/2" x 5-1/2", Bermuda Bay mat 2-3/4" x 5-1/2", and Granny Apple Green DSP 3-5/8" x 5-1/2".


That's my card for today. Now click the Next button to jump over to Libby Fens at Libby Stamps, or the Back button to see what Lori at Loritamarie Crafts has made!

Stampin' Up! products used:

  • Stamps: Sweet Little Stockings
  • Paper: Basic White and Bermuda Bay cardstock, Brights 6" x 6" Designer Series Paper
  • Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Bermuda Bay, plus Stampin' Blends - Cinnamon Cider Combo Pack, Light Bermuda Bay, Light Granny Apple Green
  • Accessories: Stockings Dies, Stitched Rectangles Dies, Wintry 3D Embossing Folder, Wonderful Snowflakes, Holiday Rhinestone Basic Jewels






Tuesday, December 7, 2021

FREE SHIPPING!

Stampin' Up! is offering FREE shipping tomorrow, Dec. 8th, on qualifying orders of $50 or more. This will be the perfect opportunity for last minute crafty gifts for friends, stocking up on essentials for you, or taking advantage of the LAST CHANCE retiring items!

And remember - any order this month gets a thank you gift from me if you use the current host code when you check out! Copy and paste YYFMXTRN when prompted.

Thank you for choosing to shop with me, I truly appreciate it!

Monday, December 6, 2021

Stamp Review Crew - Festive Foliage

Welcome to the Stamp Review Crew's Festive Foliage edition! The design team is a group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators from across the globe who pick a stamp set or bundle to highlight on the first and third Mondays of each month, with a bonus hop if there is a fifth Monday. If you landed here from Nikki's blog, My Sandbox, welcome! Weren't her projects fab?! There are only three of us today, so the hop won't take long, but I hope it still brings you inspiration for this stamp!


Festive Foliage is a cling stamp and makes a great background (~4" x 5-1/4"), showing off other images or greetings. I seriously considered using a few images, but ultimately wanted to showcase just the background with some greetings and embellishments.


The first card is heat embossed with gold on Very Vanilla. I could have gone with so many other colors, but thought Cherry Cobbler for the card base and (Heartfelt Wishes) greeting looked so rich!


After adhering the embossed piece on a gold mat and onto the card base, I stamped the greeting and added another gold mat behind it. Then a few Gold Holly Leaves and Cherry Cobbler Holiday Rhinestones completed it. Simple, yet elegant!


The next card is also heat embossed; this time white on Night of Navy. The silver Metallic Mesh ribbon looks so pretty against the dark blue!


I heat embossed the (Time of Giving) greeting in silver, then cut it out with a Tailor Made Tags die. A little silver mesh bow and some rhinestones added a bit more glitz. Again, simple but pretty!


Last is a stamped (Soft Succulent ink on Soft Succulent cardstock) background with some light shading added with light and dark Mint Macaron Stampin' Blends.


The greeting (Holly Jolly Wishes) was stamped in Evening Evergreen and die cut, then Soft Succulent shading was added around the edge with a Blending Brush. The scalloped E.E. mat was cut out of the mat behind the stamped background, saving a little cardstock. The supply chain is so crazy right now I'm trying to be more careful! Some silver Simply Elegant Trim and a few 2021-2023 Evening Evergreen In Color Jewels finished the card. This one was super simple and could easily be mass produced if you didn't take the time to color the background.

NOTE: The greetings are all from stamp sets that are retiring Jan. 3rd, so if you want them, now is the time to get them!

That's my share for today, so click NEXT to see what Holly at Rubber Redneck has made!


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