SIX YEARS!

Today marks my sixth blogaversary. Wait, what? Six years? Really?! It doesn't seem that long, at all. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing or where I would be going when I started this blog. I must say, though, I've thoroughly enjoyed the learning process, and most of all, the new friends I've made (both my e-friends, and the ones I've actually had the pleasure of meeting!).

There was a lovely surprise from Stampin' Up! in my mailbox today, too -- my Five-Year pin along with a nice congratulations letter from Shelli Gardner! I love being a part of this wonderful company!

So, to celebrate six years of blundering along fabulous, creative content, I'm giving away some blog candy. Just leave a comment telling me which project you liked the most, or how I've inspired you in some way, and you will be entered in the drawing. Because postage makes shipping outside the U.S. cost-prohibitive, I'm sorry I must limit the winner to a U.S. address. (But if you're outside the U.S., I'd still love to hear what inspired you!)

So, what is the candy? It's the clear-mount Summer Silhouettes stamp set and a roll of Lost Lagoon 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon!

Also, the Holiday Catalog launch is this Thursday, and I have Mystery Hostess party that will close Sunday Aug. 31st. If you want to be in the drawing to be the Mystery Hostess and receive the hostess benefits, just place an order by Saturday night, and use Hostess Code EJFSCUB7. Even if you don't win, I'll still send you a little thank you for your order!

Winners of the Mystery Hostess (for placing an order using the Hostess Code) and blog candy (for leaving a comment on this post) will be picked Sunday at 9:00 AM Pacific and contacted. Winning hostess has until 9:00 PM Sunday to let me know what she wants to spend the hostess dollars on, or winnings will be forfeit. I need to place the order that night, so I can't wait!

STAMP: Sweetbriar Rose
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, White Vellum, Silver Glimmer Paper (retired)
INK: VersaMark, plus Melon Mambo, Old Olive, and Daffodil Delight Blendabilities Assortments

ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Stylish Stripes folder, Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, White Stampin’ Emboss Powder, Paper-Piercing Tool, Stampin’ Pierce Mat, Candy Dots Brad Bases, Pearls Basic Jewels, Glue Dots, SNAIL Adhesive, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Peace & Joy Christmas Bauble

I think this is the last Christmas Bauble card for the time being. I've really enjoyed coming up with different creations using that a la cart stamp, and have even more ideas floating around in my noggin. But yesterday my box of Holiday Catalog preorder goodies arrived from Stampin' Up! and now I have new shiny squirrels to distract me!!!

This was pretty straighforward coloring, using the Stampin' Blendabilities markers again. The bauble was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, so it wouldn't "bleed" with the alcohol markers. Then I just used the Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive markers to color, along with a bit of Smoky Slate for the ornament hanger. Old Olive and Pear Pizzazz DSP along with a Tea Lace Paper Doily help to highlight the ornament, and the the white gel pen added some shine to the berries.

Even with the strip of Real Red chevron DSP, I still felt it needed something more, so I got out the Stampin' Pierce Mat and Essentials piercing templates to add some faux stitching. Much easier than dragging out my dusty sewing machine! And didja notice? NO Mr. Big anywhere in sight! *gasp!* The ornament was fussy-cut and the circles and banner ends were punched; no die cuts, no embossing folders!

Okay, I've yakked enough - now I need to play with my new toys! If you don't hear from me in a few days, send in a recscue team with some chocolate and coffee, will ya?

STAMPS: Christmas Bauble, Good Greetings (from upcoming hostess promotion - stay tuned!)

CARDSTOCK: Mossy Meadow, Whisper White, Real Red and Old Olive DSP from Brights Stack, Pear Pizzazz DSP from Subtles Stack

INK: Memento Tuxedo Black, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, and Smoky Slate Stampin' Blendabilities Markers, Project Life Journaling Pens, Uni-Ball Signo Gel Pen

ACCESSORIES: 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Hexagon Punch (banner ends), Tea Lace Paper Doilies, Silver 1/8" Ribbon, Stampin' Pierce Mat, Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool, Pearls Basic Jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals

Christmas Bauble with Blendabilities

Here is the other heat embossed, Blendabilities-colored Christmas Bauble. The grey of the Brushed Silver cardstock toned down the Coastal Cabana Blendies to a near-perfect match of Lost Lagoon - something to keep in  mind for future projects! I've always been fond of silver and blue for Christmas, so this just really appeals to me.

The All Is Calm Specialty DSP colors are Lost Lagoon, Pear Pizzazz, Smoky Slate, and Soft Sky, so that gave me my color choices for the bauble. Since we don't have Pear Pizzazz Blendabilities (yet), I used a Stampin' Write Marker for the holly leaves. The colors are so soft and subtle, Calypso Coral seemed more appropriate for the berries, rather than the deep red of Cherry Cobbler.

I have one more Christmas Bauble project to share, then I'm on to different stamps to color. Have I mentioned latyely how much I love to color? Yes? Well, then maybe you can understand my current obsession with Blendies.

STAMPS: Christmas Bauble, Endless Wishes
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Lost Lagoon, Brushed Silver, All Is Calm Specialty DSP
INK: VersaMark, Coastal Cabana, Calypso Coral, and Smoky Slate Stampin' Blendabilities, plus Pear Pizzazz Stampin' Write Marker
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Perfect Polka-Dots TIEF, Delicate Designs TIEF, Heat Tool, Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder, Lost Lagoon 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon, Silver 1/8" Ribbon, Rhinestones Basic Jewels

Coloring the Perfect Peacock

I am seriously addicted to coloring with the Stampin' Blendabilities markers! Is there a 12 step program to help marker addicts? If so, please don't tell me about it, because I'm having too much fun!

I hadn't planned on getting the Perfect Peacock stamp, because I figured I had plenty of images that I could color already. But then I got to looking at those stamp sets, and mostly they're floral images, which is perfectly okay, except sometimes I don't WANT to color just flowers. Sooooo, onto the order it went, and woohoo I'm glad I caved!

After coloring the bird, I used the Color Lifter Marker to add highlights to its wing and breast, so it looked more like shiny plumage. If you try that, be sure to go back with whatever color you used originally and blend the edges a bit. That's what makes BLENDabilities so great!

You may have noticed this isn't a standard A2 (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") size. I went with an A6 (4 1/2" x 6 1/4") because the image is so large, and I wanted more of a border around it. It would have fit an A2 card, of course, but for this use I wanted it larger.

I discovered something cool, too! We all know the Blendabilities will color embellishments, but did you know the Stampin' Dazzle Markers will, too? I wanted gold accents on the Antique Brad embellishment I used, and that marker did the trick. When it was dry, the ink didn't rub off, either! Now I want to try it on other embellishments (1/8" Mini Brads and Essentials Hardware Clips perhaps?).

STAMPS: Perfect Peacock, Flower Patch (greeting), Gorgeous Grunge
CARDSTOCK: Shimmery White, Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, Basic Black
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black, Early Espresso, Coastal Cabana, plus Coastal Cabana, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Night of Navy, Crumb Cake, and Calypso Coral Stampin' Blendabilities Markers, Gold Stampin' Dazzle Marker
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Fancy Fan TIEF, Antique Brads, Venetian Crochet Trim, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch

Granddaughter Birthday

Where did the time go? Can anyone tell me, please? Seriously, just a few months ago I was holding my first grandchild, who was a tiny 5 pounds, and two weeks ago she turned 15 years old and is now as tall as me. How did that happen?! There has to be an anomoly in the space/time continuum, right?

This is the card I made for her. Since her favorite color is purple, the Blackberry Bliss cardstock was perfect, and the Rich Razzleberry Blendabilities made coloring the flower a breeze. (I'm loving that I Like You hostess set a LOT, can you tell?)

I added some Dazzling Details to the yellow bloom because what girl doesn't like a little sparkle in her life? Did you see in the new catalog that there is going to be some Gold Glitz Dazzling Details? I squealed when I saw that!

Here's a close-up of the Dazzling Details:

And yes, I accidentally spattered the back ground when I opened the Rich Razz marker over the image, so I added more spatters to make it look like I meant to do that. Apparently, I'm a slow learner, haha.

STAMPS: I Like You, Remembering Your Birthday

CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Basic Black, Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, Moonlight DSP Stack, Champagne Glimmer

INK: Memento Tuxedo Black, plus Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Coastal Cabana, and Daffodil Delight Blendabilities Markers

ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Decorative Dots embossing folder, Decorative Label Punch, Dazzling Details

Tour de New Catalog!

Welcome to this month's Control Freaks "Tour de Freaks", where we will be giving you a sneak peek at some of the fantastic products coming in the new catalog! There are twelve of us on the tour, and if you started at the beginning, you just landed here from Wendy Weixler's blog. Aren't her creations to-die-for? I wish I had half her talent!

If you started here on my blog, just click the link at the bottom of the page to go to the next stop. If you do that on every blog, you'll make the full circle.

Well, where to start on that new catalog.......there are SO MANY things I want to show you, but I pared it down to two projects, otherwise you'd have been here all night looking at schtuff, and my fellow Freaks would wonder what happened to all their visitors.

So, I'm actually focusing on two of the hostess sets this time, along with some yummy Designer Series Paper, and the Blendbilities, of course. (Even though there will be a delay before you can order them, you NEED to know how fab they are!!!)

First up is a card using the I Like You hostess set AND the Let Your Hair Down hostess set. The new In Colors are so rich, they just begged to be used here. And, wouldn't ya know, the darkest of the Rich Razzleberry Blendabilities matches the Blackberry Bliss In Color! It's like they planned it, or sumpin'. AND, the medium of the Daffodil Delight Blendabilities matches the Hello Honey In Color!!! (Insert Twilight Zone music here.)

STAMPS: I Like You, Let Your Hair Down   CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Blackberry Bliss, Mossy Meadow, Moonlight DSP Stack, Champagne Glimmer   INK: Blackberry Bliss, Memento Tuxedo Black, plus Old Olive, Daffodil Delight & Rich Razzleberry Blendabilities   ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Banners Framelits, Circles Collection Framelits, Secret Garden Framelits, Blackberry Bliss 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon, Pearls Basic Jewels, 2-1/2" Scallop Circle Punch, Banner Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

Next up is another card using the I Like You set. Can't help it; I love to color, and these stamps were MADE to be colored!

STAMPS: I Like You, Express Yourself   CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay, Lullaby DSP   INK: Bermuda Bay, plus Coastal Cabana, Old Olive, and Daffodil Delight Blendabilities   Accessories: Linen Thread, Boutique Details, Bermuda Bay 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Crumb Cake 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon, Rhinestones Basic Jewels

Notice the lovely colored rhinestones! Those were colored with the markers. YES, we can custom-color our embellishments, woohoo! And see all those tiny dots? I didn't plan for there to be dots, but the markers are pretty juicy, and when I opened the lightest Coastal Cabana, I got a few spatters. So, I just added a bunch more and pretended like I meant to do that. So, that's my cautionary tale....when you open your marker, do it away from your work area! (Pssst - the medium Coastal Cabana marker matches Bermuda Bay, and the darkest one matches Island Indigo. Just so ya know!)

Up next is a new Control Freak, Heidi Boos! I can't wait to see what she has in store for her first Tour! Hop on over and give her a warm welcome.

Thanks So Much

The Blended Bloom stamp isn't just for Blendabilities - it works fabulously with watercoloring, too!

The blossom was heat-embossed in gold on watercolor paper, then colored using an Aqua Painter and the Blackberry Bliss ink pad. I probably should have gone a little darker, but I liked the way it looked and didn't want to "fix" it. Waaaay too often I make things worse when trying to make them better, so I quit while I was ahead, lol.

You can't see it very well, but I used the stamp with Illuminate ink (retired) on the Blackberry Bliss panel behind the image, too.

Notice the colored rhinestones? I made them using the darkest of the Daffodil Delight Blendabilities. I LOVE that I can make rhinestones to match my projects now! The Blendabilites are listed in the new catalog as a preview of coming attractions, meaning they won't be available to order until Stampin' Up is positive they can meet the demand for them. (And there WILL be a demand!) But never fear, they will be available to order soon, and when they are, I will be offering a free class on how to use them for anyone that's interested! Trust me, they are amazing, and will change they way you look at coloring your images!

STAMPS: Blended Bloom, Lots of Thanks
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, Moonlight DSP Stack, Watercolor Paper
INK: VersaMark, Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, Daffodil Delight Blendabilities
ACCESSORIES: Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, Hello Honey 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Aqua Painter, Rhinestones Basic Jewels

Bravo!

I promised to show you Shannon's card using all new products, and here it is! I've waited sooo long for Stampin' Up! to come out with their own alcohol markers, so obviously I was WAY excited when they announced last January that Blendabilities would be coming soon. May 1st was the first day we deomonstrators could preorder them, and you better believe I was all over it like syrup on a pancake!

I love to color, and Blendabilites make it so easy. You can color over and over the same spot, blending the ink, without wearing through the paper (unlike water-based ink markers). That makes it easy to add shadows and blend the edges. The markers come in sets of three of the specified color, a light, medium, and dark shade to make it easy to add shadow and depth to your images. When they are available to the public, they'll be $11.95 for the set of three, which is way less than three Copics!

Another fabulous thing about the alcohol ink is you can color your embellishments, like rhinestones, pearls, or metal embellies, and the ink stays put! Those lovely ruby-red rhinestones were colored with the darkest of the Cherry Cobbler Blendabilities.

So, let's see........on this card there are two new stamps (Blended Bloom and Bravo), the blossom was colored with Blendabilities (Cherry Cobbler and Daffodil Delight), the Designer Series Paper is Back to Black, and the ribbon is the Hello Honey 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon, which will be available in all the new In Colors.

So there you have a good sneak peek of fabulous things to come when the new catalog goes live on June 2nd. If you are a customer of mine and placed an order in the past year, you will be getting a catalog in the next two weeks or so. If you aren't a customer, and don't have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator of your own, I'd love to send you a catalog! Contact me and I'll take care of it.

STAMPS: Blended Bloom, Bravo
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Basic Black, Back to Black DSP
INK: Cherry Cobbler Classic Pad, Memento Tuxedo Black, Cherry Cobbler and Daffodil Delight Blendabilities
ACCESSORIES: Hello Honey 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon, Rhinestones Basic Jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals, Hexagon Punch (banner ends)