Peaceful Poinsettia ~ SC117 Sketch

When I first saw the sketch for this week's challenge at Stampin' Celebration I thought it would be perfect to showcase some of the new Christmas paper from Stampin' Up!  Then I forgot to order the paper.  No problem.  I decided to make my own Autumn background and use my new leaf dies.   The card I made was awful though. UGH!  Do you ever have days like that?  Finally I decided to make my own Christmas background and I am happy with how it turned out.

I used post-it tape along masking paper to mask off my while I did my stamping and I am so pleased with the end result.  To make the left side stand out a bit more from the right I lightly sponged it with the same color I used for my pine boughs.

As you can see I flipped the sketch.  It's so much fun to turn sketches and see all the designs you can make with one sketch. Be sure to head on over to Stampin' Celebration to see how the rest of the design team was inspired and then enter your own creation to the linky in the post.  

Stamps: Reason for the Season
Ink: Cucumber Crush, Real Red, Tuxedo Black(Memento)

Paper: Cucumber Crush, Whisper White
Accessories: Gold Stampin' Glitter, Stampin' Sponge, 1/8" Scor-Tape, Mask Paper (InkaDinkaDoo)

Reason for the Season

Gold Stampin' Glitter

Cucumber Crush

Sew Saturday

A couple of sewing projects to share with you.   First up is a mug rug to thank the hostess of our StampNation Dream Team retreat.  She opened her home for us to stay and create at and I wanted to send her a little warm thanks.



I made this pattern up myself, can you tell?  ;)  Those little leaves were a stroke of genius.  I used fusible web and die cut them with my big shot!  How cool is that?!  I think I will make my first "quilting" video soon showing you some fun things you can do with fabric and dies.  

The South Sound Modern Quilt Guild is working on their next charity quilt.  We are making an improv piecing quilt to enter into the MQG challenge.  Here is my block above.  I don't think I will ever master improv piecing, but I am trying.

Acorn Fri-Dies

Autumn Blessings to You

When I was at the StampNation Dream Team retreat in September I had the priviledge of stamping with all of Michele's stamps from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps.  How much fun is that?!  I found her stamps so easy to work with that I placed an order as soon as I got home.  Calm & Gentle was one of the sets I ordered.  Michele gave us all Autumn Blessings as a gift.  <3

Last month I made a card for breast cancer awareness using the same tree stamp.  I love that I can get a completely different look just by changing the colors I use.  Clicky if you missed that card.

Stamps: Autumn Blessings, Calm & Gentle (CAS-ual Fridays Stamps)

Ink: Cajun Craze, Hello Honey, Real Red, Soft Suede, Tangelo Twist (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Whisper White (SU)
Accessories: Blueprints 24 Dies(My Favorite Things) Circle Framelits (SU) Leaf Brad (misc.)

Lovely Snowflake Christmas Card

This week I have been traveling down to CA to see my family and new baby niece.  <3  I hope to have lots of pictures to share with you when I get back.  In the meantime I have another Clean and Simple Christmas card that will be perfect for mailing.  No bumpy/lumpy things to stop up the machines.

I'm linking up to the CAS-ual Fridays challenge to add a little metal.  Those tiny diamonds were die cut out of red foil paper.  The camera didn't even come close to capturing the sparkle of this card.

Stamps: Lovely Snowflake (CAS-ual Fridays Stamps) Scenery: Holiday Trimmings (Winnie & Walter)
Ink: Real Red, Soft Sky (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Whisper White, Red Foil (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Wink of Stella Glitter pen,  Little Bits Dies (Neat & Tangled)

More CASEing Christmas

Have you checked out the CASEing Christmas class?  I have been so inspired by what Maureen and Catherine and the other members at StampNation have been creating.  I will be sharing a couple of my CASEs very soon.  Here is a sneak peek at day 10.

Clean and Simple Merry Monday

Christmas will be here before we know it.  Are you ready to send out those Christmas cards?  Me neither.  This Clean & Simple design would be easy to mass produce.

Are you looking for more ideas to spark your holiday creativity?  Check out the CASEing Christmas class going on for FREE right now for all StampNation members.  Here is a sneak peek of today's CASEings.

Stamps: Scenery: Holiday Trimmings (Winnie & Walter for SOA)

Ink: Versamark
Paper: Whisper White (SU)
Accessories: Metallic Platinum Sparkle Embossing Glitter (WOW) Happy Holidy Die, Little Bits Dies (Neat & Tangled)

Sew Saturday ~ Baby Blanket Progress

I've made great progress on my quilt for my new niece, Meeka.  First I have to share a recent picture my mom sent.  If all goes well I will be wrapping Meeka and her quilt in my arms next week.  <3 

Ready for her first photo shoot

Meeka came home from the hospital on Halloween.  Cutest treat ever!

Nothing I make can compare to her cuteness, but I am trying.  I really struggled with the layout of this quilt. Once I sewed the blocks together and put them on the design wall they were overpowering.  It felt more like a quilt for a toddler or preschooler than a newborn.

The first thing I did was take away some of the blocks. I wanted to add in more "white space".

This was a bit better, but my eye was drawn to those dark navy blocks, so I took them out and it made a big difference.  Suddenly the quilt had a "softer" look to it.

I don't have Meeka with me to test it out, so I decided to take the onesie I just bought her and see if it looked good against the quilt. 

Oh yeah, much better.  The shirt says "My Auntie is My BFF"  <3 <3 <3.   This looks more like a baby quilt now that I have taken out several blocks and removed the dark navy pieces.

How are you doing on your A Lovely Year of Finishes goal this month? I think I will get mine done.  I'm really looking forward to having pictures of Meeka on her quilt soon!  <3

Blessings to You

Autumn is my favorite time of year.  The air turns crisp and cool, the shadows lengthen in the afternoon and the leaves put on a spectacular show of color. It is also the season of thankfulness.  

I made this card for my grandma.  She is in an assisted living home and doesn't have a lot of space for decorations, but handmade cards can sit on her dresser and brighten her room.  <3  

It just so happens that my card fits the CAS-ual Chic challenge with those gold foil dots on vellum from DCWV.  My little leaves were made after seeing Maureen Merritt use her Kaleidacolor ink pad to color leaves.  Who knew purple, olive green, brown and navy could look so good?

Before I go I wanted to let you know that my card for the CASEing Christmas class over at StampNation went up yesterday.  Sorry I didn't post about it yesteday. I've been battling a cough/cold, and spent most of yesterday in bed.  My card is on the right with a glitter Twisted Inlaid die cut technique.  That little star snowflake is from the Funky Flakes Fri-Dies from CAS-ual Fridays.  Michele made it for the Stamp of Approval collection and will be releasing it in her shop sometime in 2016.  

Stamps: Autumn Blessings (CAS-ual Fridays Stamps) Forever Fall (Reverse Confetti)
Ink: Vineyard (Kaleidacolor) Crumb Cake (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Whisper White (SU) Foiled Vellum Stack (DCWV)
Accessories: Scallop Tags Fri-Dies, Acorn Fri-Dies (CAS-ual Fridays Stamps) Early Espresso Taffeta Ribbon, Burlap Ribbon (SU)

CASEing Christmas with a Twist

Right now over at StampNation we have a very fun event going on.  It's called CASEing Christmas.  Each day a design team member CASEs (Copy And Share Everything) the card from the previous day and shares a video of the process.  Today I am CASEing Catherine's card with a Twisted Inlaid Snowflake Die Cut.  

The card on the left is Catherine's.  The card on the right is my CASE of her card.   Hop on over to StampNation and play along.  It's so much fun being CASEd and seeing what others create using the same inspiration as a starting point. 

CASEing Christmas Day 1

There is a new class starting Today over at StampNation called CASEing Christmas.  The idea is to take a card and either...

-Change at least 3 things

or

-Use 3 things as inspiration

...and then make a new card.  CASE is defined as
Copy
And
Share
Everything

For Day 1 Catherine Pooler has taken a card she made earlier in the year and redesigned it to make it into a Christmas card.  Here is a sneak peek.

Tomorrow Maureen Merritt will CASE Catherine's card and use it for inspiration to make her own Christmas card.

Each day there will be a new card and video explaining the process.  Best news of all...

IT'S FREE TO ALL STAMPNATION MEMBERS!!!!

All you have to do is log on to the home page and the newest videos will be there.   If you are not yet a member you can sign up now by going to http://catherinepooler.com/stampnation/   The cost of membership is less than a traditional class, and you will get FULL access to the site.  It's a great time to join.

p.s.  My CASE will be up on Thursday, and I still haven't seen how it was CASEd.  ;)   I'll be tuning in on Friday to see who CASEd me and what she made.