THANKSGIVING FABULOUS FLORETS

Three Thanksgiving cards with a new set that is sure to become a favorite.

This was my response to a sketch challenge but when I began working with it, the original sketch was too busy for my taste and I liked this one better.  I hope you like it too.  Colors are Cajun Craze, Daffodil Delight and Wild Wasabi on Whisper White.

The original sketch shown in the top card called for something attached to the lower right corner of the picture. I tried one of the flowers and it didn't look right, so stamped and cut out the other one and it didn't look right either. Now I had two extra flowers. What to do?  Make another card and attach them to the same flower that is stamped on the card stock.  Pop them up with Stampin' Dimensionals.  I like the final result.   I'm going to have to try something else with the original sketch, just to challenge myself to make something I like. 

Once I began playing with the stamp set and colors, I had to do at least one more. I goofed when I stamped one of the leaves and left a smudge, so, to cover that, I stamped more, cut them out and attached them with Stampin' Dimensionals. Sometimes, those goofs give us an opportunity to create something we like even better than the original.

COMPOSITION NOTEBOOKS or JOURNALS

Another excellent way to use retired Designer Paper is to cover Composition Books to be used as special notebooks or journals.  Here are three that use a combination of retired and current products.  I know that you can adapt any of them to the use of current products and hope these may give you an idea or two. For the back and the insides of the covers, I use either Designer Paper or plain card stock, depending on what I have and want to use. These three all have DP of different designs from the front cover but from the same package so that they coordinate well. That's what I like so much about Stampin' Up!  Coordinating colors and designs are so easy and look great.



COLLAGED CIRCLES

Collaged Circles is a fun technique from the Technique Junkes' newsletter. http://www.techniquejunkies.com/

It's another attractive way to use scraps of Designer Paper.  Maybe even toss in some circles punched from solid color card stock. These samples are made from a retired DP and some retired ribbon.  Colors of cardstock are Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, and Old Olive.  The lighter green is also a retired color which was one of my favorites so I purchased extra when I knew it was going to retire - Sage Shadow.

When I cut the Top Note piece with the Big Shot, I couldn't bear to toss the frame that was left, so you see it in one of the cards, too.  Not my favorite, but it's OK and one that I will feel good about sending to someone.

DECORAH EAGLE PROJECT

All last winter, spring and early summer, I was mesmerized at the computer watching the hatching, growth and development of a family of 3 eaglets.  It was such an amazing experience to be able to observe the wonderful parenting of both the male and female as well as to watch the growth of the eaglets from little balls of fluff to juveniles now out on their own.  I can hardly wait to see how the parents restore the nest in preparation for their next family.  This is one of two cards - unfortunately the one that I scanned is the one that is a bit crooked. One went to the friend who introduced me to the website and the other to the owner of the web cam and the eagle project. If you had been watching the nest, you would recognize the red twine that caused so much concern, the corn husks, fish, fluff, sticks...  A fun project.  The camera is still on the empty nest. The parents are beginining to come back to the nest for very short visits in the early morning and I've seen the male move a few sticks around. They will be preparing the nest for the next clutch and that will be fascinating to watch.     http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles

CARD MINISTRY WORKSHOP

 We had such a great time yesterday making cards to be sent out from the church by Anne. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of Anne's before she left with hers, but she created some lovely cards using her dried flowers.  I didn't get a count of Anne's before she left so don't have an accurate number but it is close to, or maybe more than, 50 cards that we produced in the afternoon and evening sessions. It was such fun to see the new stampers and card makers find that they created lovely cards. Whoever receives them will be thrilled and impressed. The experienced stampers tackled the more intricate cards as well as helped the newbies. Of course, we enjoyed an evening of laughter and chatter - always an important ingredient of card making time together.  Butterflies and birds seemed to be the theme of the evening. Next time it will be something different.
Donna's                                                                                  Sherry's

                                                Betsy's

                                                     Bev's          

Helen's                                                                                    Sandy's

                                                  Betsy and Sandy

                                               Betsy and Sandy

Beth's

JUST PUNCHES

You don't even have to be a stamper to create a lovely card. Here is a card created from Designer Paper and punches.  I'm lovin' the Dotted Scallop Border punch.  You'll be seeing much using that punch in the future. The medallion is made with the new triple layer punch which also is a fun punch.  Of course, you recognize the scallop border punch.  The small flower with the brad in the center is a retired punch but any of our newer small punches will work just as nicely. The grosgrain ribbon is just tied in a knot and attached with glue dots.  If you wished, you could still add a sentiment on the front of the card or leave it as is. It looks very nice without a sentiment on the front. Once again, using my stash of retired papers and card stock but you can see how this will work with the current DP and card stock of your choice.

SAIL AWAY GRADUATION CARD

Here is the card that I made for my grandson's graduation. Not too hokey - "Sail Away to the future"? Oh well. I liked the idea.  I sponged the Whisper White  after coloring the sails with a Signo white gel pen. It really is the best white gel pen on the market that I've found. The baker's twine is a new product and, even though the rest of the products on this card were in the Summer Mini and not now available, the twine made it into the current Idea Book and Catalog and is proving to be popular. It also comes in brown and white and in plain white.

BOOKMARK CALENDARS

Bookmark calendars are also a fun project.  Here are two, one showing the front and one the back. You decide which is which.  The stamp sets were in the 2011 Summer Mini catalog. I'd be delighted if they were to come back next year in the big catalog. Actually, Open Sea stamp set is a write in for the current catalog but Sail Away is not currently available.  Here is my inspiration for the bookmarks and the template for next year. Cat so generously shares. Thanks, Cat.  http://www.catscreativeplace.com/

Stamp Sets: Sail Away, Open Sea

HAVE YOU SEEN THE NEW CATALOGS?

If you haven't yet seen the current Idea Book and Catalog that came out July 1st, or the Holiday Mini that will be available from now until January 3rd, just click on the images on the left side of this blog to see them online. Did you know that you can order directly and save a little?  If you do, you will have an opportunity at the website to name me as your Demonstrator.

There are some new things in the Holiday Mini that are exciting. The Simply Scoring Tool is getting lots of great accolades already.

How about 1"x 8" cellophane bags for Halloween treats?

A Holiday Stocking BigZ die for your Big Shot and a Stocking Builder Punch, Glimmer Paper, Quilted Satin Ribbon, Mini Jingle Bells and so much more. Of course, there are new stamp sets, Designer Paper, Fabric and other accessories, new Digital Downloads.... You just have to take a look! 

AUTUMN DAYS THINKING OF YOU

Autumn Days is a wonderful stamp set as you can see from previous posts. It easily spans the Autumn and the Christmas seasons.  For this one, I colored the pheasant stamp with markers and stamped it on Whisper White, then cut it out and adhered it to the card using Stampin' Dimensionals to pop it up.
The stamp set includes a pine cone "bouquet" as well as the autumn themed stamps so it is especially useful for the winter holidays. You can purchase it either with wood mounts or clear mount.  It is a Must Have in my stamp inventory for this time of the year.

The sentiment is from the Sincere Salutations set - another Go-To set that I use all the time.

The ribbon used here is retired, but there are so many excellent choices in the new catalog, you will find just the right one to enhance your card.

Dreams du Jour Easel Calendars

These calendar easel cards were made in January before I broke my arm - fortunatly. Easel cards are fun to make, they mail in the standard card envelope and, as a calendar, make a year long reminder of your friendship with the person who is lucky enough to receive the card from you.  Dreams du Jour is a delightful set and, if you know me, butterflies and ribbon are my favorite embellishments. The stamp set is in the current catalog, the designer papers shown here are retired bits from my stash that I'm trying to reduce. 

REPORTING IN - AGAIN!

Oh Goodness.  You can see that May came and went and no contributions here from me. Healing and a return to some sense of normality has taken much longer than I anticipated. So, here's another try. I have been doing some stamping and card making in the past month - mostly using retired products. I'm trying to be responsible and reduce my stash before buying much new. Not an easy challenge!  So, for the time being, I'll be posting some projects that I've enjoyed making from retired products and hope they may give you some ideas for design or technique - or that you just enjoy looking at them. Of course, I'd love to have your comments on any of them.