A New Ink on Life

Halloween Sweet Pressed Cookies!

Well today is halloween so I figured that I better show you a project to go with the holiday. I will admit though that I am not a huge halloween fan, now I know some of you are over the top with the decorations and costumes, which is totally fun but it has just never been my thing,lol! I however do have children who love dressing up and get quite excited for the day to arrive so I might as well use the opportunity to get a little crafty:)

My youngest is in kindergarten this year and she loves making things with me, which I totally enjoy but it has to be something that she is able to do with out a lot of stress on me. You see I am a little bit of a control freak and find the overwhelming need to make sure things are done a certain way so the key is easy projects!

I have always loved baking even as a child and I am sure a lot of us remember baking cookies with our mom or dad and how fun it was to mix the dough and watch them bake. So what could be even more fun then baking and stamping?! Stampin' Up! has these awesome Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps and we just used the sugar cookie receipe that comes with them but added a little orange food colouring to the dough. Then we rolled it into balls and Isabelle "stamped" the pumpkin face from the Holiday set.

Now of course yummy cookies have to have cute packing so we used the premade tags from the Ghoulish Googlies Designer Kit. All she had to do was stamp the images from Googly Ghouls and add the super cute Googlie eyes. We then put them into 4x6" Cello Bags and tied them closed with Lucky Limeaide Baker's Twine. And for an added little treat we also attached a fun bat or spider plastic ring. A very fun and stress free halloween project!

Have a great day, 

# 1 DAD

It's Wednesday and that means a new challenge at Stampin' Royalty! This week is a theme challenge and it is all about the guys in your life. Our challenge to you is to create a MASCULINE card for any occasion. We all know how hard it can sometimes be to make those manly cards but I am sure we all have a special man in our life that would enjoy receiving a card too!

I decided to create a card for the kids to give to their dad on Father's Day.

When I made the card I designed it with the same colour scheme as the gift that we had made for him in mind. The base of the card is Basic Gray card stock. I layered on a piece of Basic Black card stock then a piece of Well Worn Designer Series Paper and destressed the edeges of both. To create the medallion I took a 1 1/4" x 12" strip of Basic Gray DSP (from the Neutrals Designer Paper Stack) and scored it every 1/4" using the Simply Scored Tool. Next I layered on a piece of Bashful Blue card stock that had been die cut using one of the dies from the new Apothacary Framelits and embossed with the Lattice Textured Impressions Folder I then added to Mini Silver Brads to either end.

The #1 was die cut from card stock using the Timeless Type Junior Sizzlets and also embossed. To give a real "manly" feel to the card I die cut the word "DAD" using the same sizzlets but this time from a piece of Wood Sheets, then sponged the letters with Basic Gray Ink.

So are you wondering what the gift looks like that this card goes a long with? :) Stampin' Up! had asked this year's Artisan Award Winner's to create one last project for their Facebook Page and we were told to create a Father's Day themed project or anything that we wanted. (you can see what everyone else came up with HERE) I am sure you guessed what I chose.  For once I have something done ahead of time,lol!

Here's what I had posted about the project:

“I wanted to create something really special for my husband for Father’s Day and what could be more perfect then a personalized gift created in My Digital Studio. The kids are so excited that he can now proudly display how much he means to them. I cannot stress enough how My Digital Studio makes it easy to create special and unique gifts. I just created a page, exported it to a jpeg and printed it the size that I wanted. Then by adding some traditional elements like ribbon and paper I helped the project come to life. I cannot wait to see the look on his face when he opens it!”

Digital Supplies:
118108: My Digital Studio Plus
129340: Number One Digital Kit
129929: Candid Frames
128874: Neutral Delightful Digital Tape
127168: Timeless Type Junior Letters & Numbers Punch

Paper:
121045: Basic Black Card Stock
105120: Bashful Blue Card Stock
117157: Neutrals Designer Series Paper Patterns Stack

Accessories & Tools:
124326: Basic Gray 5/8" Satin Ribbon
119850: 1-3/4" Circle Punch
113439: Big Shot
114526: Circles #2 Originals Die
122334: Simply Scored

Hope you can join us this week at Stampin' Royalty and please check out what the rest of the fabulous Design Team came up with!

Have a great day!

Love U with Outlined Occasions

Had I been more organized I would have posted this project sooner but just because Valentine's Day is over doesn't mean you can't give someone you love a little something:)

It uses the 3 of the stamps from Outlined Occasions which is one of the FREE stamps sets that can be earned during Stampin' Up!'s Sale A Bration promotion. I also used a new favourite Colour Combination of mine; Blushing Bride, Pool Party, Poppy Parade  and Chocolate Chip with a touch of Calypso Coral. It was fun to combine sentiments with this set as the "so very much" usually would go with the "thanks" stamp, but I decided to create "love U so very much" by adding a die cut letter. I'll just list the supplies as this project is pretty simple but if you have any questions just let me know.

Stamps: Outlined Occasions

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Poppy Parade, Blushing Bride and Pool Party Markers

Paper: Blushing Bride Textured, Poppy Parade, Pool Party, Choclate Chip, Whisper White

Accessories: Big Shot, Lots of Tags Sizzlets, Timeless Type Sizzlets, Pillow Box Die, Wide Oval Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, Small Heart Punch, Jewlery Tag Punch, Calypso Coral Organza Ribbon (SAB)

Have a great day!

Last Minute Valentine's- My Digtal Studio to the Rescue!

It is Wednesday and unfortunately I do not have a sample for this week's Stampin' Royalty Challenge, but be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team came up with for this week-they totally rocked it!

I have been crazy busy this last week and a half and my youngest was sick over the weekend with croup again:( So needless to say there was no Valenetine's cards being made on Saturday and Sunday, considering she was sick and my other two each had a soccer game on both days!  That left me scrambling Monday night to help 3 kids come up with 70 Valentine's in total! Thankfully the youngestest wasn't having her preschool party until today, so of course I helped the other two get theirs done. ( and forgot to take pictures,lol!)

Anyway today was Isabelle's party and she had changed her mind a hundred times; like most four year olds, so this morning I decided to just CASE a really cute idea I have been seeing all over the internet.

I took this picture of her:

Did a little My Digital Studio Magic:

Printed them on matte presentation paper (I used Espon Ultra Premium).

And added a heart shaped lollipop!

She was super excited to bring them to her friends and I was glad to finally be done!  My Digital Studio was definately a time saver for this project. All she had to do was print her name on the back and of course stamp a pink heart:) I can not say enough about this programs versatility. And right now Stampin' Up! is offering a FREE 30 day trial of My Digital Studio Express for those of you that have not taken the plunge this is a perfect way to try it out! Check out more info on this great promotion HERE.

Supplies used:

My Digital Studio Program, Thoughtful Overlays Download, Be Mine Designer Template Download

Have a great day!

A Friendly Valentine

I am so excited to share with you a little project that I created for Stampin' Up!'s Facebook Page. With it being Valentine's Day next Tuesday the Artisan Award Winners were asked to share some love:) Make sure you check out what other "lovely" ideas they came up with HERE 

The whole idea of this project is that Valentine's Day does not have to be just for kids and couples. I created this card and candy bag to give to some of my friends to let them know they are loved and appreciated. Do you remember when you were a child and how fun it was to make hand make Valentines for all your friends? My favourite ones were the kind that you could color in. For my project I decided to create a “grown up” version that I could color. I am in love with the gorgeous color palette from the Attic Boutique Designer Series Papers and the sweet image from the Greeting Card Kids Stamp Set is perfect for water coloring.  Using an Aqua Painter with various ink pads I was able to channel my inner child and what Valentine’s project would be complete with out candy? The new Labels Collection Framelits make the perfect bag topper for Stampin’ Up!’s Cello Bags.

It is hard to tell from the photo but I put a dab of Crystal Effects on the heart to make it look like the cinnamon hearts in the cello bag.

 Here's a list of supplies I used:

119887(W) 120633(C) Greeting Card Kids Stamp Set

109521(W) En Francais Background Stamp

122268(W) 122270(C) You’re a Gem Stamp Set

118091(W) 118592(C) Tiny Tags Stamp Set

122959 Watercolor Paper

122924 Pool Party 8 ½ x11 Card stock

119796 Blushing Bride 8 ½ x11 Card stock

119685 Cherry Cobbler 8 ½ x11 Card stock

101650 Very Vanilla 8 ½ x11 Card Stock

125407 Attic Boutique Designer Series Paper

122938 Pool Party Classic Ink

119669 Cherry Cobbler Classic Ink

119667 Daffodil Delight Classic Ink

119786 Blushing Bride Classic Ink

105208 Sahara Sand Classic Ink

119670 Early Espresso Classic Ink

100037 Blush Blossom Stampin’ Write Marker

119883 Full Heart Punch

120906 2 ½” Circle Punch

117190 Jewellery Tag Punch

112530 Circle Scissors Plus

112531 Circle Scissors Plus Glass Mat

113439 Big Shot

117332 Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslits Die

125598 Labels Collections Framelits Dies

125592 Paper Doily Large Sizzlet Die

125596 Fashionable Hearts Embosslits Die

119247 Jewels Basic Pearls

125570 Blushing Bride 3/8” Pleated Satin Ribbon

122967 Soft Suede 3/8” Taffeta Ribbon

103104 3x5 Small Cello Bags

101055 Crystal Effects

 

Have a great day,

 

Gingerbread and Sugared Things.....SR#50

Wow it's challenge #50 at Stampin' Royalty this week and we would love to have you join us! We invite you to Bring on the Bling - Glitter, Tinsel, Sparkles, Rhinestones whatever...if it sparkles put it on a card, scrapbook page, or 3d item! Be sure to check out all the Design Teams samples.

I had so much fun with this challenge and got a gift made in the process :)

Here you can see a close up of the cute gift tag that really sparkles in person! I used a bunch of SU! Rhinestone Jewels and also covered the tag in Vanilla Smooch Spray. The tag itself was made using Crumb Cake Card stock and one of the tags from the Two Tags Die (I cut it down a little so it was not as long). The sentiment is from the Sweet Season stamp set and I stamped it twice using Chocolate Chip ink on Very Vanilla and Old Olive. I punched out part of the Old Olive piece so I could spotlight part of the words (yes I know that I did not line it up perfectly, I realised it after the picture was taken and with my OCD it is driving me nuts! Of course I have since fixed it :) The super cute Gingerbread man is from Jolly Bingo Bits.

Here you can see the full thing. I baked yummy Ginger snaps and rolled them in decorative sugar and I just love the way the cookies sparkle from it! You can see from this picture that I also added some Wide Striped Old Olive ribbon, Hemp twine  and a Real Red button to the tag. The jar is just one that I picked up from IKEA and I added one of the Candy Cane Christmas Decor Elements from the Holiday Mini. They are so fun and easy to use, and can quickly dress up a plain jar, mug, mirror, cookie plate...the possibilities are endless!

Have a great day,

A Peaceful Season of Gift Giving

Well it is Staurday and I am sad to say that it is the last challenge for the Create with Connie and Mary Holiday Edition. We have had a blast sharing so many different projects over the last 8 weeks, all using the fabulous items from the current Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini. But remember you can still join and take advantage of recreating the projects anytime you want, as the site will still stay up for months to come.

Now on to the challenge! This week is for the Design Team only and we were asked to create Gift Packaging. The projects that we were working on this week focused on using Tags Til Christmas stamp set, Jolly Jingles Wheel, Peaceful Season Level 2 Hostess stamp set and the fun new Designer Fabrics. I still had a few items left out from my project tutorial so I decided to use them for todays challenge.

  
  I LOVE the cute little Mini Lunch Sacks! Now I know you are all thinking -"they are brown paper bags and I can buy them anywhere" but honestly the quality is amazing. They are thick, sturdy and are also so easy to stamp on. You can use them for so many different out of the box ideas :)  I inked up the holly and leaves from the Peaceful Season Hostess Set with my Cherry Cobbler and Always Artichoke Markers and randomly stamped all over the bag. Then I folded over the scalloped top of the bag and using my Crop a dile I punched two holes and threaded some of the beautiful Deck the Halls Designer Fabric through it.

  The tag I made by cutting out one of the tags  from Naturals Ivory card stock using the SU! exclusive Two Tags Die. (My favourite die). I sponged the edges with Always Artichoke then stamped the dove image with Crumb Cake ink and the greeting with Early Espresso. To finish it off I used a little bit of Victoria Crochet Trim and a beautiful Antique Brad. This is just the perfect size to put a special treat in.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team did this week:

Mary Brown – StamperCamper

Cristena Bagne – Gettin' Crafty

Rochelle Gould – I stamp, I create, I have fun!

Connie Babbert - Inkspired Treasures

I also wanted to say how truly inspired I was over the past 8 weeks. And I am so very grateful to have had the pleasure of being on the Design Team with these fabulous ladies. Thank you again to Connie and Mary for letting me share my love of Stampin' Up! and creating with all of your subscribers.

Have a great weekend everyone,

Making New Friends and a Special Gift

     
  
  
Just in case nobody has noticed, I just LOVE this stamp set! So when I joined an international swap through UStamp I just knew Friends 24-7 was the stamp set to use. One of the best parts for me about  being a part of UStamp with Dawn and Friends is not only do I get to be on a design team with amazingly talented designers I have made some fabulous new friends who are just as crazy about Stampin' Up! and paper crafting as I am!

This card was made for my swap sister Dee and I thought the sentiment was just perfect for the occasion and I just love using the edge of the Curly Label Punch to create the decorative edge on the Sahara Sand piece that the sentiment is stamp on. It's so simple to do but adds so much. The base of the card is Confetti White cardstock and I randomly stamped the damask image with Sahara Sand Classic Ink. I then stamped the flowers on Water Colour Paper with Basic Brown Classic Ink and water coloured it using Always Artichoke, Cameo Coral and Regal Rose Stampin' Write Markers and my Aqua Painter. The matte is a piece of Textured Soft Suede Cardstock and I then attached two Kraft Corduroy Brads. I love those yummy brads and buttoms-definately a must have! The circles are cut out using my Circle Scissors Plus and Glass Mat and the bird image was stamped using Soft Suede Classic Ink. I did a lot of sponging on the card with Close to Cocoa Classic ink to give it a classic vintage look. Oh and of course I used the detressing tool from the Cutter Kit; a tool I can not live with out!

This is the Skinny Tin that I sent her gift items in. You can purchase these tins in the SU! Clearance Rack section of my WEBSITE here. I wish I had gotten a better picture before I had to send it off, I embossed the snowflakes from the Serene Snowflakes with Silver Embossing Powder on the front of the tin,then decorated it with the beautiful Christmas Cocoa Specialty Paper and the awesome Merry and Bright Rub-Ons both found in the Holiday Mini Catalogue.

And these are the goodies I put inside! Again I used the Merry and Bright Rub-ons, Specialty paper (this time I used the Flocked pattern-it's so soft!), Ornament punch and  and coordinating cardstock. Wow I barely did any stamping on this whole project! I must say the Rub-Ons are a fantastic and quick way to whip up a card or gift item. You can view a jar that I made using the same papers and Rub-ons pack in this post HERE. Oh and those cute little tags were made using my Sizzix Big Shot Machine-the ultimate tool for any paper crafter and SU! exclusive Two Tags Die. 

Dee received her package yesturday and I am so glad to have made it for her. Have a great day evryone and happy stampin'!