Love is in the air...

I know Christmas is barely behind us and the winter blahs have started to set in, but it is time to start thinking about Valentine's Day! Today's new colour challenge from Sunday Stamps is sure to have you feeling the love...check it out:

Here is my project for the Design Team, featuring some of my FAVOURITE new products from the upcoming Occasions Catalogue...

Wedding/Anniversary/Valentine's card featuring the Bloomin' Heart Thinlit die and Bloomin' Love stamp set (available January 5th!!)

Isn't that die-cut heart just to (pardon the pun) die for???  It is simply gorgeous and, with the Precision Base Plate and new Die Brush, cuts like a dream. No more dryer sheets or waxed paper for this girl!  Woohoo!!  I am in love with both of these products and how much easier they make my life. That die brush is THE BOMB...where has that puppy been all my life? So many rolls of waxed paper could have been spared if that nifty little tool had come into my life sooner.
Anyhow, on to the project. To achieve the gradient of colour on the heart, I started with a piece of Whisper White card stock and then sponged Blushing Bride, Rose Red and Crumb Cake before die-cutting my heart. MUCH easier than trying to sponge that delicate die-cut after the fact. I added even more yummyness by brushing the whole thing with my Wink of Stella glitter pen. Oh. My. Gorgeousness. The photo really doesn't do it justice. The entire heart just shimmers and sparkles...it is simply heavenly.

To make the heart pop more against the Crumb Cake background I cut a second heart from Whisper White card stock and layered it behind the sponged one, offsetting it slightly. I did the same thing with the "love" die-cut, cutting one from gold glimmer paper and then one from Whisper White card stock on which to layer it. The sentiment is from the Bloomin' Love stamp set and is stamped in Rose Red ink. I used some Sahara Sand 7/8" Lace Trim and a few pearls by way of embellishment.

On the inside I stamped the floral heart image from the Bloomin' Love set in Blushing Bride ink. The sentiment is from the For the New Two stamp set and is stamped in Crumb Cake ink.

I am so loving this colour palette...stay tuned for more projects to get you in the mood for all things Valentine's :) In the meantime, give it a go yourself...it is a sure way to beat the winter blahs.  Don't forget to check out the rest of the Design Team's projects and post your completed card over at Sunday Stamps. 

Here are the currently available products I used on this project:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Technique Twist Saturday!

It's the second Saturday of the month which means its time for a new challenge over at The Technique Twist!  This time we're not so much about a technique as a style:  Modern Whimsy.  Now, I had no idea what Modern Whimsy was but once I started investigating I discovered it was a style of design that I have always been drawn to.  I'm so excited to share my first attempt with you...check it out:

Baby card in the Modern Whimsy style featuring the Cuddles and Kisses stamp set.

Isn't that fun?  I had such fun putting this together...here's how I did it:

• I started with a piece of silver Fancy Foil Designer Vellum that I cut just 1/8" smaller than my 4"x5-1/4" piece of Smokey Slate card stock.
• I added half of a tea lace doily
• Then I added a 2"x4" banner cut from Blushing Bride DSP from the Subtles stack.
• The scalloped heart is die cut from Blushing Bride card stock using the Hearts A-flutter Framelits and embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots TIEF.
• The DSP heart is punched from Eastern Elegance DSP using the Full Heart punch
• The sentiment is stamped in Smokey Slate, punched and then resized with the Modern Label punch.  
• The die cut LOVE is done in Strawberry Slush card stock using the Expressions Thinlits
• The little sparkly hearts are punched with the Owl Builder punch

On the inside I stamped the sentiments from the Cuddles and Kisses stamp set in Smokey Slate and Strawberry Slush and added a couple more sparkly hearts, punched with the Owl Builder and Small Heart punches.

I really love the light, airy look of this style of design.  I plan to play with it some more this weekend...be sure to stop by next week to see what I come up with!  In the meantime, be sure to check out what the other members of the Twisted Design Team did and be sure have a fantastic weekend!

Busy, busy, busy!

Wow...I can't believe its Monday already!  Where did the weekend go??  I spent most of Saturday prepping for a Stamp-A-Stack class and decorating my home for Christmas in preparation for my Open House next weekend.  Sunday was church in the morning and then a fun Stamp-A-Stack with Mary and her friends.  It is amazing how quickly two days can pass when one doesn't have time to take a breath!
No stamping this weekend, but I do have a project to show you that I CASE'd from Teneale Williams on Pinterest a while back.  Have a look:

Simple Christmas card featuring the Expressions Thinlits and Banner Christmas stamp set.

I really love the Expressions Thinlits.  Yes, they're a bit fussy and require some patience to remove the diecut word from the die, but the effort is SO worth it!  Here are some quick tips to recreate this one:

• I embossed the Cherry Cobbler card front using the Stylish Striped TIEF.  The card stock is cut to 4" x 5-1/4".
• The card base is Crumb Cake.
• I die cut the Merry from Red Glimmer Paper using the Expressions Thinlits and adhered it using Multipurpose Liquid Glue.
• I stamped Christmas from the Banner Christmas stamp set in Old Olive ink.
• The DSP is from the Season of Style DSP stack.
• The panel behind the stamped panel is Baked Brown Sugar card stock.

As I mentioned earlier, I had absolutely NO time to stamp this weekend, but I do have a few projects to show you this week that I made a while back.
Don't forget the Holiday Sale is still going strong this week until December 3rd.  Tons of great deals to be had...click the image below to view all of the sale items.

By the way...did you realize that one month from today is Christmas Day????  Yikes!  I have work to do!!

Double Embossing for The Technique Twist

This week's challenge at The Technique Twist is Double Embossing.  Now, I had always considered Double Embossing to be where one used both dry and heat embossing on a project, but leave it to the creative gals over at the Twist to switch it up!  This take on Double Embossing uses different coloured embossing powders to colour an image.  Check out my project:

Christmas Card featuring the Double Embossing technique using the Festive Flurry stamp set (131781), coordinating Framelits (132193) as well as the Expressions Thinlits (132171)

I twisted this already twisted technique by stamping and heat embossing my snowflake on acetate. 

I used white, Tempting Turquoise and Pool Party embossing powders.  I did a second, smaller snowflake for the inside.

Inside sentiment is from the More Merry Messages stamp set (126402)

This technique really is as easy as heat embossing, you just use multiple colours of embossing powder rather than a single one.  One tip for heat embossing on acetate: be sure to use your Embossing Buddy liberally before stamping.  Because acetate tends to hold static electricity, the embossing powders will stick where you don't want them if you don't use the Buddy!  You also may need to use a card stock shim when die cutting with acetate to ensure the Framelits cut all the way through.
Give this technique a try...its fun and easy...then be sure to link up over at The Technique Twist so we can admire your work!

One More Sketch-inspired Project

Today I have my last project using this month's inspiration sketch...and in my opinion, I've saved the best for last...

Holiday card featuring the Festive Flurry bundle (133285) and Expressions Thinlits.

This project came together easily thanks to the Festive Flurry stamp set and Framelits.  It will most certainly be part of my Holiday class line-up, but if you want to recreate it yourself, here are some tips:

• The bottom snowflake is heat embossed in Irridescent Ice.  The top one is stamped in Pool Party.  Both were die cut using the Festive Flurry Framelits.
• The DSP strips are from the Winter Frost DSP stack (132183).
• The pennant layer is Smokey Slate and is embossed using the Argyle TIEF (127750).
• The background and card base are Pool Party card stock.  The background layer is embossed using the Stylish Stripes TIEF (132174).
• The Merry is die cut from Silver Glimmer Paper using the Expressions Thinlits (132171).  Tip:  Apply a piece Big Shot Multipurpose adhesive sheet (120805) to the back of the Silver Glimmer paper before die cutting.  It makes adhering the die cut word a breeze!

Isn't it amazing how many different looks you can get from one simple sketch?  What a great way to inspire one's creativity!