Tour de Freaks Gratitude Tour

Tour de Freaks Gratitude Tour sounds a little like a rock band, doesn't it? (Well, my fellow Freaks are rock stars, in my book!)

Welcome to the October edition of the Tour de Freaks! Our theme this month is gratitude, and I'm grateful to be a member of this group, for sure! If you joined the hop at the beginning, you just landed here from Julie Davison's blog.  But if you happened to start here on my blog, you can take the whole tour by clicking on the "next stop" button at the bottom of each blog. There are only ten stops this month, so it won't take too long to make the loop and come back here!

I have a couple of cards for you today.  Would have had more but a mojo-sapping headache is interfering. (I'd be grateful if I could get rid of this darn headache!)

My favorite component in the Thankful Tablescape Simply Created kit is the fabulous birch bark-looking paper. It's meant for wrapping pillar candles, but I can't stop using it on cards! Besides the pretty design, it has a lovely texture that adds so much to the card!

 STAMP: Gently Falling  CARDSTOCK: Naturals White, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Gold Foil, Birch Bark Paper  INK: Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze  ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Circles Collection Framelits, Expressions Thinlits, Designer Naturals Buttons, Linen Thread, Brights Candy Dots, Glue Dots

Do you like using your stamping supplies in different ways than they were intended? I do, and besides the birch bark paper, I had fun turning the Halloween Happiness stamp into an Autumn gratitude card. The stamp was colored with markers, leaving out the jack-o-lantern and the Halloween greeting. The small oval punch was the perfect size to build a pumpkin, which was popped up on dimensionals for a 3D effect.

STAMPS: Halloween Happiness, Truly Grateful  CARDSTOCK: Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Pumpkin Pie, Natural Composition Specialty DSP  INK: Tangerine Tango, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Soft Suede, Old Olive  ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Square Lattice folder, Small Oval Punch, 7/8" Cotton Ribbon, Linen Thread, Stampin' Dimensionals

That's all for me now, so hop on over to LeeAnn Greff's blog to continue the tour!

Spotlight on Designer Series Paper

Sometimes the paper used on a card can be the main focus, and all you really need is a simple image and a nifty greeting. Birthday Basics is loaded with fun designs. I mean, who wouldn't love the bright balloons and birthday candles? It was so easy to pick a few colors from the DSP to color the cake image from Sketched Birthday.

And, I gotta tell you, that greeting from Yippee Skippee just tickles my funny bone to no end! I'm sure my Weight Watchers leader wouldn't agree, but she'd probably say just remember to count the Points and move on.

This was one of the cards we made in the Second Saturday Stamp Club.  Tomorrow (Saturday) is the Envelope Punch Board Class.  Wait until you see what we're making! Those projects should be up within the next week. Tomorrow night it's the Tour de Freaks with the Control Freaks Stampers, so be sure to check back!

Stamps: Sketched Birthday, Yippee Skippee!

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Bermuda Bay, Shimmery White, Birthday Basics DSP

Ink: StazOn Black, Raspberry Ripple, Bermuda Bay, So Saffron

Accessories: Big Shot, Circles Collection Framelits, 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Stampin' Pierce Mat, Paper-Piercing Tool, Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack, Brights Candy Dots, Dazzling Details, Stampin' Dimensionals

Endless Wishes

Boy, that would be great, right? When I was a little girl, I'd daydream about being granted three wishes by a genie. Of course my first wish would have been unlimited wishes!  And I was even clever enough to wish for unlimited wishes, but only if I said "I wish, I wish, I wish..." first.  That was to avoid unintended consequences; things could have gotten messy otherwise. Like, my little sister and brother might have disappeared, or something. Ha!

But actually, that's not really what I meant by the title. There's a new photopolymer stamp set called Endless Wishes, and it is just so versatile! You can combine the greetings in so many ways and, of course, there are snowflakes to make it extra special.

I looove snowflakes! I love snowflakes and snowmen!!! Of course, I'm writing this from sunny southern California, where I never have to deal with the cold, or shoveling sidewalks. But it's nice to daydream (there I go again!) about sitting in front of a crackling fireplace, looking out a picture window at the scenery blanketed in white. You know what I'm talking about.....with maybe a one horse open sleigh gliding by. A real Currier & Ives picture!

So here is everything that comes in the stamp set for only $13.95.  And the beauty of the clear photopolymer stamps is, you can see to position the greetings exactly where you want them.

Here are some more ideas from the amazing Stampin' Up! design team (they did the card above, as well).

Be sure to check out the incredible new Weekly Deals, too! They're only good until midnight 10/21.

Week 3 of the 12 Weeks of Chrismas was sent out this morning. If you aren't on the mailing list, you missed it! But it's not too late to get weeks 4-12, so be sure to sign up (top left sidebar)!