Weekly Challenge #52 - Anything Goes Using Something New

#52

Challenge: Anything Goes Using Something New
  

December 31st - January 6th, 2014

     

Last week was "Something Old" and, since this week holds the promise of the new year, we're doing "Something New".   I'm excited because I am in love with cupcakes, but haven't used one of my Paper Smooches cupcakes yet.  How did that happen?

 

 

This card includes a paper-pieced cupcake from the Sugar Rush stamp set.  (I've used this set quite a bit -- especially the ice cream cone -- but never this adorable cupcake!)  I double-mounted it with scalloped circles cut from various Bazzill Basics Smoothies pinks.  I cut out a banner from one of those pinks and embossed Happy Birthday with clear EP.  The sentiment was from the Digits stamp set. 

    
So how about it?  Please join us in celebrating the NEW YEAR by using something new to you!  It's a fun challenge -- use a new stamp, new paper, new tool, new technique -- and share it with us!

    

Please link your projects HERE.

    

Happy Stamping & Happy New Year!

  

Weekly Challenge #51 - Anything Goes Using Leftovers

#51

Challenge: Anything goes using your Leftovers

December 24th - 30th, 2013

'Tis the season of leftovers, am I right?  Leftover stuffing, leftover turkey, leftover everything, it seems!  This year, I made my very first post-Thanksgiving turkey casserole.  I'm pretty excited by how it turned out.  I used two different recipes and used what I liked from each one.  We had some of the fresh sage & thyme leftover from making the gravy also, so I was able to add those to the casserole, too.

In addition to saving food leftovers, I save a lot of crafty leftovers.  Even things that started out as food containers or junk mail are crafty leftovers for me.  I've used chipboard from cereal boxes, plastic from product lids, etc.  I've got a project to show you today that I made from paper leftovers.   

The three adorable patterns I used were Christmas paper from the Bazzill Basics "Nordic Pines" collection, and the two solids are from Bazzill Basics, too.  I think I might keep working on this card and add some leftover ribbon and leftover buttons, too.

   

So here's your challenge: create something made from leftovers.   Anything goes, so it could be leftover fabric, leftover paper, leftover embellishments... whatever you find.
  

Please make sure your creation post has a link back to Cuttin' and Stampin'.  

You can link your projects HERE.

  
Winners will be announced on January 3, 2014.  Thanks for playing along!
 
I wish you all Happy Stamping and Happy Holidays!  :)
 
  

Growing in Unity - Friday

Well, everyone, this is it!  I can't believe it's Friday already, and time to share my last post as this week's Growing in Unity Gal.  

Since we started the week with a couple of {itty bitty} stamp projects, I wanted to end with one too.   The stamp talks about strength, and I thought that a paper depicting tree trunks would be appropriate.
  

 
The patterned paper is from We R Memory Keepers, and the solid is Pear from Bazzill Basics.   Then I tied a ribbon around the center panel and affixed a button.  Any other embellishments seemed superfluous.  The edges were inked with ClearSnap chalk ink in Chestnut Roan.


It's been a great week!  Thanks so much for joining me.  Please don't forget to post a comment on today's post and on the other posts this week.  Each comment will be entered into tomorrow's drawing for a pair of {itty bitty} stamps of the winner's choice.

Happy Stamping & Happy Holidays to all!

Growing in Unity - Thursday

Time for the fourth project this week, and this one's sweet!
    

    

This card's focal image is considered a 'background'.  It's a collage called Pear of a Recipe, which I stamped in green ink.  Then the sentiment was added in black and three black gems were added in the upper right corner.  As usual, the edges were inked in ColorBox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan.

Oooh, and how about a bonus card today?   This "Celebrate" card is published in the current issue of Take Ten from The Stampers' Sampler.  
   

   
The boat & sentiment are an {itty bitty} stamp set!  Remember on Tuesday when I said I love plaid?  It's totally true.

Please leave comments on each post this week for a chance to win TWO {itty bitty} stamps of your choice.  Thanks for visiting.

Happy stamping!

Growing in Unity - Wednesday

Since I featured {itty bitty} stamps on Monday & Tuesday, I thought I'd go to the other end of the spectrum and create a card using stamps from one of the past Kits of the Month.  If you haven't considered subscribing, it's a great opportunity to get some great Unity stamps at a bargain price.  The 8.5" by 11" sheet of stamps costs only $26.  (By comparison, many companies sell 4" by 6" stamp sets for about $15 -- so if another company sold the huge sheet of stamps, it'd cost nearly $60!)

So, on to today's project...  it's the Eiffel tower, an iconic symbol of Paris, embossed on a patterned paper panel.
 

  
To add visual interest, I used a corner rounder on two opposing corners.  Then I embossed the sentiment, "merci", on a flag cut with a Sizzix die.  A simple black button embellishes it.  Edges are colored with the ColorBox chalk ink in Charcoal.

TIP:  Can't find a thread or ribbon that matches your project exactly?   Thread the button with a thin strip of cardstock or patterned paper!

Merci for joining me on my Growing in Unity journey so far.  Please come back for more cards on Thursday & Friday.  Don't forget that each comment throughout the week is entered into the drawing for 2 {itty bitty} stamps of the winner's choice!

Happy Stamping!

Growing in Unity - Tuesday

Since I featured an {itty bitty} stamp yesterday, let's keep the theme going!   After all, that's what one lucky commenter will win at the end of the week.  Comment every day this week for more chances to win!

This is another clean & simple card, featuring the On the Bright Side {itty bitty} stamp:

I stamped the lamp and sentiment onto a cream panel with Rich Cocoa dye ink by Memento and edged the panel with my go-to Chestnut Roan chalk ink from ClearSnap.  I added a little copper-colored paper clip and tied that with a small bit of ribbon from May Arts.  The lamp panel is layered atop a cute plaid rectangle (that was also edged with the chalk ink) and then both panels are mounted onto a dark chocolate card.

I have a real 'thing' for plaid papers.  I can't get enough of them!!

Thanks for stopping by!   Happy Stamping!

 

Growing in Unity - Monday

This is so exciting -- I'm the "Growing in Unity Gal" this week!   I can't wait to show you some simple yet fun stamping projects using stamps from the Unity Stamp Company.  I will post each day this week.  Please comment, because each one will be entered into a random drawing for two free Itty Bitty stamps of the winner's choice!

Without further ado, let's take a peek at today's project:

It's made using the "how's it rollin'?" itty bitty stamp set, along with patterned paper and the cute "memo" tab sticker from Fancy Pants.  All the edges are inked with the indispensable ColorBox Chalk Cat's Eye in Chestnut Roan.   I use those ink pads until the sponge is falling apart, and I almost always have a back-up on hand.

These roller skates remind me of the days in the early eighties when my sister & I would go skating.  I even had one of my birthday parties at the skating rink... maybe third grade?  My poor dad broke his leg at that party.  Were you ever a rollerskating nut?   Ever had an injury while skating?

Hope you'll stop by each day this week for more Unity fun, and comment for a chance to win!  :)

Happy Stamping!

Weekly Challenge #48 - Red, White, Kraft and Black

#48

Challenge:  Color Challenge
Red, White, Kraft and Black

December 3rd - 9th, 2013

We've got a great color challenge cooked up for you today:  red, white, kraft, and black.
    

My project uses three of these patterned papers and one of the cute journaling cards.  The adorable snowman from the Winter Groves set from Paper Smooches has been paper-pieced to add a plaid scarf.  The sentiment from the Sentiment Sampler set didn't quite fit horizontally on the journaling card, so I stamped the two words separately on different lines.
   

  

We'd love to get your take on this color scheme!  Please make sure your creation post has a link back to Cuttin' and Stampin'.   You can go HERE to link your projects.

    

Also -- Because this week is an ANYTHING GOES week at Paper Smooches Sparks challenge, I'm submitting this card for that, too!

  
Do you have any crafting plans this week?  I've signed up for a two-day crop this weekend.  Hope I'll be able to stay the whole time!

Happy Stamping!

Cuttin’ and Stampin’ DT call 2014

This post is my application to join the Cuttin' and Stampin' Design Team for 2014 as a Challenge Post Design Team Member. I have greatly enjoyed working with the team in 2013 and hope to get the chance to do so again.

I live in a suburb of Boise, Idaho, with my husband, Chris.   We're owned by two senior cats, Digit and Dusty.  I started stamping 10 years ago when Chris fell ill and I needed a quiet hobby to fill my time when I wasn't caring for him.

I like to travel, and have gotten to stop at lots of wonderful stamping stores and stamping events (and, of course, meet lots of terrific stampers) along the way.  It was on one of my trips that I got a chance to meet Tammy and we were like old friends the very first time we met -- and that's how I learned about Cuttin' and Stampin'.

My gallery is at SplitCoastStampers, where I also participate in the forums as "StampingSpud".  My crafting résumé includes information on published projects, past design team work, and stamping television appearances.

Here are a few projects that I think best represent my stamping style:

 

  

  

Thanks so much for your time and your consideration of this application.

Weekly Challenge #46 - Anything Goes with Numbers

#46

Challenge:  Anything Goes with Numbers

November 19th - 25th, 2013

We are celebrating Numbers this week. All of our design team members will be creating projects using the Bazzill Basic Paper Countdown to Christmas collection and the Paper Smooches Digits stamp set.  

 

My Christmas card uses the Digits stamp set from Paper Smooches, in addition to the Alphadot stamp set.  I created the green part of the tree using the Paper Smooches Clouds die set, and the brown trunk using the Trees 1 die set.  After cutting the three green cloud shapes, I inked the edges to create depth, assembled the tree, and embellished with gems. 

Another trick I used on this card is embossing the sentiment.  Because the cardstock was textured, it was difficult to get a nice, solid black stamped image.  However, with the embossing powder, it leveled off as it melted, creating a much more solid and impactful image.

So let's see what you can do with numbers, folks!  Bring out number stamps, number dies, or whatever works for you.   We can't wait to see your cards, scrapbook pages, or even a 3D project with a lot of numbers like an Advent calendar!

You can enter your creations here.  Please make sure your creation post has a link back to Cuttin' and Stampin'.  Thanks for playing along!  We will be announcing the winners on November 29, 2013.   

Happy Stamping!

Weekly Challenge #44 - Giving Thanks

#44

Challenge:  Giving Thanks

November 5 - 11, 2013

Now that Halloween has passed, we can turn our attention to enjoying the remainder of the fall season and (for Americans) plan for our annual focus on giving thanks.  As papercrafters, we have so much to be thankful for... lots of inspiration, beautiful colors, and a wonderful community of stampers and scrappers to share it all with!

I wanted to share something fairly easy to accomplish and that would be appropriate for either gender to send or receive.  I started with the color scheme from the Bazzill Basics line called "Autumn Harvest".  From that line, I used the plaid paper and the dotted paper is actually from one of their decorated journaling cards.  Then I used the notebook paper die and the thanks word die from Paper Smooches, and finished the sentiment with their Many Thanks stamp set.  To age it a bit, the edges are all inked with Chestnut Roan chalk ink from ClearSnap. 

Even if you can't think of a thank-you card that you need right now, you'll no doubt need one soon.  Why not join us and make one, so you will have one on-hand next time you have someone you need to thank?

Please make sure your creation post has a link back to Cuttin' and Stampin'.

Thanks for playing along.  We will be announcing the winners on November 15, 2013.

Please link your projects here.

Happy Stamping!  

Weekly Challenge #43 - Autumn Harvest

 
#43

Challenge:  Autumn Harvest

October 29 - November 4, 2013

It's harvest time!  We're ready to cool down and watch those beautiful fall colors change from greens to yellows to oranges.  It's such a pretty time, isn't it?  Let's celebrate that time with some fun fall projects!

My card uses Autumn Harvest papers from Doodlebug along with several coordinating colors of solid Bazzill Basics cardstock.  Couldn't resist adding the little owl (also from Doodlebug) and adding little gold gems for eyes.

The "Welcome Autumn" sentiments comes from the Autumn Groves stamp set from Paper Smooches, stamped in dark green.   The branch that the owl is perched on is actually a tree die from the Tree 1 Die set, and the leaves are from the Leaves 1 Die Set.

There was lots of cutting and assembly time put into this card, but it certainly wasn't difficult... just a little thinking outside of the box to turn the tree into a tree branch.

We certainly hope you'll join us and create your own Autumn Harvest project!  Please make sure your creation post has a link back to Cuttin' and Stampin'.   Thanks for playing along.  We will be announcing the winners on November 8, 2013.  You can link your creations HERE.

Happy Stamping!

Friends with Flair Friday - Perfect Butterfly

This is one of my very favorite stamps from Unity Stamp Company: the cute Perfect the Way You Are butterfly. There's something about the pen work in the drawing... maybe the double lines or the ruffle-like layers in the wings? I don't know why exactly, but I love it. So here's a card that showcases the butterfly.

The technique used here is "Triple Time Stamping", in which you cut all the layers first and stamp on only the re-assembled white layers then add the colored layers back into the mix. Glossy cardstock was used, and different colors of orange and yellow were sponged on. The saying and butterflies are stamped in dark brown.

The ribbon started out as a vanilla ribbon, but I sponged the same colors from the card onto it so it would match perfectly.

There are lots of wonderful text and video tutorials on "Triple Time Stamping" and it's very easy to do, so I encourage you to try it sometime!

Happy Stamping!

Weekly Challenge #40 - Breast Cancer Awareness

#40

Challenge:   Breast Cancer Awareness

October 8 - 14th, 2013

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month in many countries around the world, and the pink ribbon is the movement's most visible symbol. We're celebrating this week with projects that feature both the color pink and the awareness ribbon!

My project features the beautiful Hope stamp set and die set from Paper Smooches. (This set was designed by Kim Hughes, who lost her mother to breast cancer.)

Hoping to have the pink really pop, the card is mostly a nice medium gray (Date Swirl from Bazzill Basics) accented with the dotted pink (Slipper). The word "hope" is embossed with a very light pink opaque embossing powder. I used the ribbon stamp to create a pattern on the bottom, and added the "loved" sentiment on top. Last, I used the die set to cut the small ribbon out of Watermelon Sensation.

While we're talking about Breast Cancer Awareness, please be brave and choose to Walk the Walk in addition to Talking the Talk. I have first hand experience with this... I even have friends my age going through breast cancer treatments now... but I was too afraid to get my own mammogram. If you're 40 and over and haven't done a mammogram this year, pick up the phone and make an appointment today. And if you don't want to do it for yourself, please consider doing it for the people who love you.

We hope you'll join us and make a project for Breast Cancer Awareness.  It could be a scrapbook page, card, etc. You can link your project here.

Please make sure your creation post has a link back to Cuttin' and Stampin'. 

Thanks for playing along!  We will be announcing the winners on October 18, 2013.

Weekly Challenge #39 - Halloween

#39

Challenge:   Halloween

October 1 - 7th, 2013

Today is World Card Making Day!  I'll be celebrating by making cards today.  Will you?  Of course, if you choose to join our challenge, it's not necessary to make a card.  A cute Halloween-themed scrapbook page or 3-D item will work just fine.

My project features the Arsenic and Lace patterned papers from Bazzill Basics and the Spookalicious dies and stamps from Paper Smooches.  All of these are available at the Cuttin' and Stampin' Shop at a deep discount as the Weekly Deal!

This card has fancy cutting all over it.  First, the focal images are both paper-pieced.  You'll notice some additional cutting on the ghost's "hand", where I created a slit for the pumpkin so it looks like she's carrying it.  Also fancy cut are the shape that says "eek" which was cut from the Bazzill Basics patterned paper, the bat which was a Paper Smooches die, and the spider web which was cut on the Silhouette.

We hope you'll join us and make a Halloween project -- cute or spooky is up to you!  It could be a scrapbook page, card, etc.  You can link your project here.

Please make sure your creation post has a link back to Cuttin' and Stampin'. 

Thanks for playing along!  We will be announcing the winners on October 11 2013.

Happy Stamping (and Card Making)!

October: Stamp Out Breast Cancer

As October was approaching, I thought about Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the projects I would be making to help spread awareness.  I also thought about my friends that are battling and surviving.  And I considered my own hypocrisy.  I was going to tell everyone to go out and get checked, while I had never done so myself -- even though I'm over 40.  I was too afraid.  Afraid of the smooshing.  Afraid of the answer.

So I did it.  I picked up the phone and made the appointment.  When I arrived at the appointed time,  I noticed they had a sticker on my folder that said "FIRST TIME", so they took extra time to make sure I was o.k. at every turn.  The mammogram process was not difficult.  Yes, some of the time I was uncomfortable, but I was never hurting or in pain.   I went home and waited for the phone call that I need to come in again.  But it didn't come.   What did come, yesterday, was a letter in the mail from the radiologist that there was no sign of cancer detected and that the films will be kept to compare with next year's scan.

To my friends and family, those battling cancer and those who inspire and love me:  Thank You!  I'm so glad I did it.  And if you should, please do it.   If something does happen to be wrong, it's much better to find out while something can be done to save you!


My card says "Think Pink" with the awareness ribbon, so it would work for thank-yous, encouragement, or thinking of you cards.  It was created with the A Muse Studio set called "Fight Like a Girl", which you can get for free this month while supplies last (it's just a $3 charge for S&H). 

Supplies:

  Stamps:  Fight Like a Girl stamp set by A Muse Studio

  Ink:  Grapefruit & Onyx ink by A Muse Studio

  Paper:  Solid Grapefruit, Chevron Grapefruit and Solid Sugar cardstock by A Muse Studio 

  Accents:  Onyx sheer organdy ribbon by A Muse Studio

This card was published in Stamp & Scrap Arts September 2013 issue (my first time in that magazine!) in a special Breast Cancer Awareness section.

Happy Stamping!

Weekly Challenge #37 - Use Three Punches

#37

Challenge:   Use 3 punches

September 17 - 23rd, 2013 

My reaction when I heard about this challenge was "Oh, that'll be easy.  I have three punches!"  That's not how it turned out at all.  I had in mind that I'd use a border punch as one of my three, but none of my border punches seemed to coordinate well with any of the other cards I started.  

On this, my fourth or fifth attempt, I decided that I liked the Martha Stewart zig-zag border punch for a Halloween project.  After all, this Doodlebug "Halloween Parade" line includes chevron patterns, so a zig-zag border would work! 

Supplies:
Stamps:  Salutations (Paper Smooches)
Paper:  Criss-Cross Solid Cardstock (Bazzill Basics), Halloween Parade (Doodlebug)
Paint/Ink: Memento dye ink in Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), chalk ink in Charcoal (ClearSnap)
Accessories: Glitter stickers & Lilac baker's twine (Doodlebug), Corner rounder, tag, and small circle punches (EK Success), Zig-Zag border punch (Martha Stewart)

So after initially struggling with the three punches, I actually ended up using four:  The zig-zag border, the tag, the small circle (hole in tag) and a corner rounder.

My particular tag punch did not have a larger nesting tag punch to accompany it, so I just stuck my purple tag on a piece of the multi-colored chevron Doodlebug paper and trimmed the outer piece to size.   Then I punched the hole through both layers and threaded the Baker's twine through it.
 

We hope you'll join us and make a project using three punches!  It could be a scrapbook page, card, etc.  You can link your project here.  Please make sure your creation post has a link back to Cuttin' and Stampin'.  
 

Thanks for playing along!  We will be announcing the winners on September 27, 2013.

Happy Stamping!