I'm Ba-ack...

Well, here it is nearly the end of 2011 and I FINALLY am back in the photo-taking business.  Thanks to a good repair job my camera is fully functional and ready for action.  Since I've been away Christmas has come and gone in a whirlwind of family visits and big dinners.  The dust has finally settled and I finally have time to catch my breath.  As is always the case, when I finally give myself permission to relax a little, I get sick!  In fact, my whole family is sick with a nasty cough and cold.  My son has another ear infection to go along with the horrible cough, which is making the nights not overly restful in our house!  The poor kid can't get a decent sleep because he is coughing his brains out!  We're hoping he'll be able to nap a little during the day to make up for the lost sleep at night.  This bug can move along any time now!
This morning I had a rather pleasant surprise in my inbox.  It was an email from Pals Paper Arts that two of my designs had been chosen for their "Best Dressed for 2011" list!!  I was chosen for July  and September and I have to say I am absolutely thrilled and humbled.  What a great way to start my day after a rather crummy night!
Now, on to a project...and isn't it about time??  This card is the first one I created when I received my Occasions Mini pre-order goodies.  It is CAS and uses a bunch of new products...check it out:

CAS card using the new Apothecary Art stamp set from the upcoming Occasions Mini

I have to say I did a little happy dance when I saw the new Framelits dies in the Occasions Mini.  Those of you who have received your copy will know what I am talking about, but for those of you who haven't, these dies are along the lines of Nestabilities dies, with several different sizes of the same-shaped die.  They are perfect for layering and are easy to position to cut out images from the coordinating stamp sets.  The Framelits set that I used on this card is the Labels Collection and it coordinates perfectly with the images in the Apothecary Art stamp set.  This card, in fact, used my Big Shot to the max.  I die cut the label after stamping the image on very vanilla in Staz-on ink.  I also die cut a larger-sized label in baja breeze and ran it through again using the perfect polka dots embossing folder.  The background is another piece of very vanilla that I also embossed using the vintage wallpaper folder.  I watercoloured the flowers using my aquapainter and baja breeze ink pads.  The finishing touch on this card is the gorgeous pleated satin ribbon, another new product from the upcoming mini.  I LOVE this stuff...you're going to be seeing more of it in the coming weeks!

Boxing Day came early!

Stampin' Up is making a lot of holiday dreams come true with some fantastic deals on the online Clearance Rack.  Punches, dies, embellishments all at up to 80% off!!  These deals are while supplies last only, so act fast to get your hands on these fantastic bargains!  Click here to access my online store.

No Camera = No Photos

So you've probably been wondering where the heck I've been for the past week.  I am here, really busy, but still stamping.  My pre-order for the new Occasions Mini and Sale-a-bration came and I had a chance to play for an hour or two.  The problem is my camera isn't working!  We are in the process of determining whether it is more economical to get it fixed or just buy a new one.  The challenge is, with Christmas fast-approaching, Santa may be working on a new camera for me so....no photos for now!  I've tried to let Santa know how urgent it is that I have a functioning camera, so maybe he'll make an early delivery.  In the meantime, happy stamping!  I'll have LOTS to share when I do finally regain the ability to take pictures!

NOT a Christmas Card!

I am so over Christmas cards.  I've been doing them since August and, quite frankly I am sick of them.  I held my last Christmas card class of the year today and all I can say is bring on Valentine's Day!  The card I have for you today is not a Christmas card.  It is a thank you card I designed for a class I am teaching at an upcoming weekend retreat in January.  The class is on watercolouring and so I chose one of my favourite hostess sets to colour:  Faith in Nature.  See what you think:

Thank you card using the Faith in Nature hostess set

Focal image detail

I just love this pear image.  I don't know why but it just really appeals to me.  I stamped it in versamark on watercolour paper and then heat embossed it in gold.  I watercolored it using my aquapainter and ink pads.  The rest of the card is pretty straightforward and uses more mustard, soft suede and crumb cake cardstock.  I am so looking forward to playing with my preorder items from the upcoming Occasions Mini...there's nothing like new goodies to jump-start the ol' Mojo!

200 Followers!

Wow!  I just realized there are now 200 of you out there in cyberspace following my little blog!  That  absolutely blows be away...that there would be that many people interested in what I create.  Kinda humbling...and it makes me even more determined to do a better job of posting regularly.  I owe it to all of you, so I hereby pledge to make my blog worthy of your time and attention.  The good news is that I am nearing the end of my crazy schedule of holiday classes and workshops.  Hopefully within the next couple of weeks, in the midst of the chaos of preparing for Christmas, I will get some time to just stamp for fun...I miss that!  I SO can't wait for my pre-order for the Occasions Mini...I have so many ideas for how to put the fabulous new products to use!  But more on that later...today I have a really simple Christmas card for you.  This is one we are doing at my LAST Stamp-A-Stack of the season this coming Sunday...

CAS Holiday card using the Easy Events stamp set

I told you it was simple!  I know its not really my style, but I needed something that would come together quickly and this one really does.  The only thing that takes any time at all is colouring in the image with old olive and real red markers.  The rest is quick and easy.  I'm not sure why I didn't photograph the inside of this one...there is a little more colouring inside and a festive sentiment.  I'm also not sure why the photo is so dark...something didn't work properly, apparently!  One little tip I have for you is that whenever I have stamps that have both an image and a sentiment on them, I cut the sentiment off so that I can use them separately without having to use markers to ink only a portion of the stamp.  In this example, I cut the sentiment off, stamped the image without the sentiment first and then stamped the sentiment afterwards.  It allowed me to space the image and sentiment out more than if I had left the stamp intact.  This trick works really well with clear mount stamps, as it is very easy to put the stamp back together again if you ever desire.  I have found that doing this really adds to the versatility of my stamps. 

Ok...I am off to bed...tired out after a day of teaching high school and a monthly class tonight as well as prepping for another class tomorrow evening!  Have a great week, everybody!

CASE-ing myself!

I have another monthly club meeting tomorrow and as I sat down to prep for it I was fresh out of MOJO!  So, I began looking through my collection of samples from past classes.  I found this card and got busy changing it up to use for my class.  Since I had some leftovers from the Christmas Lane Simply Scrappin' kits I used for my Mini Album class this afternoon, I used some of the DSP to makover my original design.  Here is what I came up with:

Holiday card using DSP from Christmas Lane Simply Scrapping Kit and Pennant Parade stamp set

Detail of 3D tree.

Inside detail.  Sentiments are from the Many Merry Messages set (which is on for 50% off till the 30th!!)

I have to say that I like my CASE'd version better than the original one!  I kept many of the same elements but added the 3D tree and the little jingle bell to the front.  I also popped up and framed the sentiment on the inside.  The colour scheme is based on the DSP:  cherry cobbler, early espresso and lucky limeade.  I like the freshness of these colours together.  I hope my club members like it too!

Deja Vu...

You may experience  a little Deja Vu when you see the card  I have for you tonight.  It is a variation on a card I did a couple of weeks ago for a Stamp-A-Stack a customer was hosting.  I used the same layout and switched up the colour scheme and stamp set for my Christmas Club this month.  See what you think...

Elegant Holiday card featuring Bright Hope stamp set and Mocha Morning DSP

Isn't it amazing how you can take one card design and transform it by simply changing up the colours and stamp set?  The original version of this can be seen HERE.  Neither card uses traditional Christmas colours...this one  uses basic gray, basic black, whisper white and cherry cobbler.  The flocked Mocha Morning DSP is just so yummy; rich and elegant...love it!! 
See how easy it is to take an existing design and make it new?  If you are one who finds it  difficult to be creative and come up with original designs on your own, try taking something you've seen and switching it up to make it your own.  It is a great way too spark your creativity and find your own stamping style.  Before long you'll be designing up a storm and wondering who this incredibly creative person is!  Give it a try the next time you sit down to stamp!