Santa's Sleigh Swap

This was a card I made for a recent swap. Now that I know everyone has received theirs, I can show you! I thought I would keep it clean and simple....well, I got the clean part down, anyway. I don't know what I was thinking when I thought wrapping the Copper Thread around each tree FOUR times was going to be simple. Stamping and die cutting was a piece o' cake, though!

The angled shot really shows how pretty that Copper Foil is. I used scraps in the Confetti Stars Punch to make the little star embellishments. It just needed something, and they were the perfect "something"! And no one outside Tennessee will get the symbolism, heehee!

Here's the "How To"
 Tree: Garden Green 2-1/4" x 4"
 Stars: Scraps of Copper Foil Sheet
 DSP mat: Warmth & Cheer 1-3/4" x 3-3/4"
 Mat: Copper Foil Sheet 2" x 4"
 Greeting banner: Crumb Cake 1/4" x 4"
 Embossed background: Fancy Frost Specialty DSP 3-7/8" x 5-1/8"
 Mat: Garden Green 4" x 5-1/4"
 Card base: Whisper White Thick 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" scored and folded at 4-1/4"

1. Adhere Fancy Frost DSP to Garden Green mat, and then to card base.
2. Adhere Warmth & Cheer DSP to Copper Foil mat, and then to card. (I left about a half inch margin at the top and left side of the copper mat.)
3. Stamp tree image in Garden Green ink on Garden Green cardstock and die cut with tree from Santa's Sleigh Framelits. Wrap with Copper Thread (four times!), adhering ends to back. Attach to card with a strip of Tear & Tape adhesive down the middle.
4. Stamp greeting in Garden Green ink on banner, cut ends into a banner, fold and adhere with liquid glue.
5. Use foil sheet scraps to punch stars with Confetti Stars Punch. Adhere with liquid glue.

Product List

Santa's Sleigh Photopolymer Stamp Set

Santa's Sleigh Photopolymer Bundle

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

Garden Green 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

Warmth & Cheer Designer Series Paper Stack

Fancy Frost Specialty Designer Series Paper

Copper Foil Sheets

Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad

Big Shot

Big Shot Magnetic Platform

Santa's Sleigh Dies Thinlits

Confetti Stars Punch

Copper Metallic Thread

Tear & Tape Adhesive

Liquid Multipurpose Glue

Jar of Love Swaps

This is the design I used for the Control Freaks swap. It's a lot like the Big Jar O' Love card, but with Peekaboo Peach as a contrast. It's amazing how great those colors look together!

Since I didn't have enough silver sequins, I had to use white ones on some of the cards. Which version do you think looks better? (I know the white sequins are subtle and hard to see, so click on the pic for a closer look.)

For the "How to", click the Big Jar O' Love link above, and swap Rich Razzleberry for the Sweet Sugarplum cards base, Peekaboo Peach for the Rich Razzleberry mat and flowers, and use Pumpkin Pie ink to stamp the star flowers.

Swapping (Again!)

Here is the swap I held back a few days ago, because I had to wait until I was sure my Control Freaks peeps had received theirs. This is soooo much more vivid in real life! The Champagne Glimmer Paper mats behind the sun's face and the sunburst panel really add a lot of sparkle, and the Basic Black makes it pop!

Did you know about the August Big Shot special? If you buy the Big Shot (I love my Mr. Big!), you can choose a bundle of stamp set with matching Framelits (five bundles to choose from) for FREE! And one of them features a stamp set from the new Holiday Catalog, woohoo! (Christmas will be here before you know it!)  If you already own the Big Shot, you can save 15% on just the bundles.

Also, all the Blendabilities color sets are available for purchase now and I have a special offer for you, too! If you buy any of them this month, I will send you my Stampin' Blendabilities Tips and Tricks. It's loaded with helpful hints for getting the most out of your markers, as well as some cool techniques to try! This offer is only good for the month of August, so don't miss out!


STAMPS: Ray of Sunshine, Kinda Eclectic
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Basic Black, Hello Honey, Champagne Glimmer Paper, Moonlight DSP Stack
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black, Hello Honey
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Arrows TIEF, Hello Honey 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon

We Be Swappin' FREAKS!

Well, we ARE the Control Freaks Stampers, after all, and 3-4 times per year we have swaps. This month the Tour de Freaks theme is the swaps we made each other for convention. Swapping is a big FUN part of any Stampin' Up! gathering, and swapping with the Control Freaks is extra fun! I'm the first stop on the tour this time, but you may have landed here from Connie Babbert's blog. Either way, just click on the link at the bottom of each blog, and you'll make the rounds of all (lucky) 13 of us.

To me, the very best part of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is the friends I've made, that I never would have known otherwise. With that in mind, my swap cards are gratitude and friendship-themed. Up first is the Thank You card. It's hard to see in this photo, but the colors look kind of peacockish. (Is that a word? LOL) The Coastal Cabana and Blackberry Bliss just work wonderfully together! The image was colored with Stampin' Blendabilities Markers. It's so easy to blend the colors! And the shadow added with the Smoky Slate marker makes it look like the image was fussy-cut and popped up on dimensionals, but it wasn't!

STAMPS: I Like You (hostess), Itty Bitty Banners   CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Blackberry Bliss, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper   INK: Blackberry Bliss, plus Coastal Cabana, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Smoky Slate, and Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blendabilities Markers   ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Deco Labels Framelits, Circles Collection Framelits, Bitty Banners Framelits, Perfect Polka-Dots TIEF, Delicate Designs TIEF, 2-1/2" Circle Punch, 1/8" Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

The second card is my friendship card. My friends all have a sparkle to them, so I wanted to make a card that encourages their "shine"! I just love this scribbled sentiment (from Good Greetings, a 19 pc. hostess set coming in the Holiday catalog, woohoo!).

STAMPS: Beautiful Bunch, Good Greetings (avail. later this year)   CARDSTOCK: Mossy Meadow, Crushed Curry, Whisper White, Park Lane DSP, Gold Glimmer Paper   INK: Crushed Curry, Mossy Meadow, Early Espresso   ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Flower Fair Framelits, Fun Flower Punch, Tangelo Twist 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon, Gold 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

Just so you know, some of the people on this month's tour weren't able to attend convention this year, so their theme was "free for all".....that should make things interesting!  Up next is the ever fabulous Wendy Weixler's blog. Since she lives practically next door to the convention center, she WILL be attending! Be sure to stop by ALL the blogs; you don't want to miss any of it!

Congrat - YOU - lations!

Here's a great card for any graduate! This was my swap card for the Control Freaks swap. Holy moly, I got a lot of AWESOME cards back that I shared with my stamping friends at the open house yesterday. Were they ever impressed!

The greeting is from the Bravo stamp set on page 133 of the new catalog. It has lots of fabulous sayings.

Well, I have to get back to cleaning/purging the stamp cave. After pulling the retiring stamp sets, the shelves look rather barren. I'm sure that situation will be reversed in a few months, lol!

STAMP: Bravo
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Blackberry Bliss, Moonlight DSP Stack, Champagne Glimmer Paper
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black, Daffodil Delight & Rich Razzleberry Blendabilities markers
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Decorative Dots embossing folder, Hello Honey 3/8" Stiched Satin Ribbon, Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack, Rhinestones Basic Jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals

Swappin' with the Freaks!

The theme this time was "Flat and FABULOUS"! Since we've all run into problems mailing our multiple-layer, highly embellished cards, Lisa challenged us to make cards without bulky knots or bows, buttons, or brads. We could use the smallest Basic Jewels (pearls or rhinestones) or Candy Dots (without the brad bases).

I love me a good challenge, so I set out to create something without too many layers, but with plenty of texture and visual interest. Nothing too CAS (clean and simple). I immediately thought of the loose sequins from the Gold Sequin Trim.  Can't get much flatter than that, right? And I wanted to use fresh, Spring-y colors, since everyone has had more than their fill of Winter.

I really liked the design I came up with and then set to work making 24 of them. And that's when it struck me.......what was I thinking?! What looked so good as a single card became somewhat more of a challenge than I had planned. I mean really......punching and sponging 72 of those tiny flowers wasn't my most brilliant idea, lol. But I think the result was worth the pink fingers I had for two days. Plus, it was a good reminder to myself that when Convention rolls around in July, plan something a wee bit less time-consuming for swaps! (Yeah, right. Like that'll really happen. *snort*)

STAMPS: Flower Shop, Gorgeous Grunge, Regarding Dahlias (greeting)
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Pool Party, Pink Pirouette
INK: VersaMark, Melon Mambo, Pool Party, Bermuda Bay
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Fancy Fan folder, Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Dazzling Details, Gold Stampin' Glitter, Pearls Basic Jewels, Gold Sequin Trim, Stampin' Dimensionals

Swappin' With the Freaks

One of the perks of being a Control Freak is getting to swap several times per year with the other Freaks. We try to choose a wide variety of stamp sets, card styles, and/or techniques so we can inspire our stamping friends and show them sets that we may not necessarily have in our own collection. It's a wonderful thing!

This is the swap card that I just sent off.  The theme this time is, of course, the new Occasions Catalog.  My stamp set of choice was Peaceful Petals again. Can't help it - I just love that set!  Plus I'm holding off on buying too many new sets until after January 1st.  (But it's so haaarrrrrd!)

So, more bright, Spring-y colors with the Watercolor Wonder DSP, plus I used four of the stamps in that set!  And as I was coloring all the large leaves (and fussy cutting them), and coloring all the flowers, and all the smaller leaves, and adding the glue and glitter to the centers, I was kicking myself for not thinking it through enough.....I had to do that 28 times!

Oh well, I hope they like it!

Stamps: Peaceful Petals
Cardstock: Watercolor Paper, Whisper White, Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight, Goil Foil Paper, Watercolor Wonder DSP
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Daffodil Delight, Wild Wasabi, Crushed Curry
Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka-Dots folder, 2-Way Glue Pen, Gold Stampin' Glitter, Blender Pens

Happy New Year...

...A few days late, lol! I have so much to share, and don't want to cram it all in one post, so today I'll share my first Control Freaks swap. It uses FOUR stamps from the Collage Curios stamp set, plus the Soda Pop Tops from the new Spring Catalog, which started today!

And per your requests, tomorrow I'll have the tutorial for the treat box from the Stampin' Addicts blog hop last weekend, so be sure to check back then!

Now, back to the Control Freaks swap.....I had high anxiety about my swap, wondering if it was CF-worthy. I sure hope the other Freaks thought so. The swaps that I got back were amazing - I'm so happy to be a part of this group!

Here's a little hint I figured out while making this card: the stamp that looks like a laurel wreath fits perfectly in the scallops of the Tasteful Trim scalloped die!  It was so easy to line it up and freehand stamp in each scallop with the Clear Mount stamps.

Note: The page numbers below are for the new Spring Catalog. 

If you don't have one, and would like to receive one, let me know!!!

Stamps: Collage Curios (pg. 24), greeting is from Vintage Verses (FREE Sale-A-Bration set)

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Basic Gray, Regal Rose, More Amore Specialty DSP (pg. 10)

Ink: Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, and Basic Gray Stampin' Pads, Regal Rose and Wild Wasabi Stampin' Write Markers

Accessories: Big Shot, Tasteful Trim Bigz XL Die, Fancy Fan Embossing Folder, 1/2" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1-3/4" Circle punch, Basic Gray Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Regal Rose 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Soda Pop Tops - flattened with the Big Shot (pg. 24), Stampin' Dimensionals