Stampin 411: Saturday Sketch Challenge #237 (SSC237)

It's been a while since I participated in a Saturday Sketch Challenge over at Stampin 411.  Don't ask me why.  I've been hit and miss with this group.  I don't understand it because I absolutely love checking out their blog and all the beautiful cards made by the Design Team and other stampers, plus all the helpful suggestions, tutorials and colour challenges. 

Maybe it's because I'm always too busy with family on Saturdays to pay attention.  But that's going to change.  Starting now, I'm going to be adding more of their challenges to my New Year " Must Try" "Must Do" lists.

I seem to be on a role with Birthday cards this month, so I thought I would adapt this sketch for one that's coming up in mid-January.   I'm featuring stamps and accessories from both the Occasions Mini Catalogue as well as a sneak peak at some neat things from the Sale-A-Bration cattie. 

Bordering on Romance #125480(w) or #125482 (cm) pg. 11 Occasions Mini Catalogue

Edgelits Dies - Adorning Accents #125595 pg. 7 Occasions Mini Catalogue

Isn't this a cheery and colourful card?  Just the thing to brighten a wet and dreary January day!  The 5 1/2 by 4 1/4"  card base is cut from Lucky Limade cardstock. The small floral image from the Bordering on Romance Stamp Set was stamped in Versa Mark Ink to create some background interest. 

To create the decorative edge, I used the brand new Edgelits  Adorning Accents Scalloped Edge Die. What fun!  These new dies are a little tricky to work with but they're not as fragile as they look.  To keep the edge straight while running it through the Big Shot I attached the die with mini glue dots over the card stock edge to the plate and then rolled it through the machine.  Voila a beautiful neat scalloped edge!  

Now the scallop looked really good as it was, but I decided it needed just a little more pop.  To achieve this raised image of the scallop, I embossed about 1/16" behind the scalloped edge using the Adorning Accents Embossing Folder Scalloped Edge.  It's one of three awesome embossing folders made specifically for edges.

Adorning Accents Embossing Folders #125601 pg. 7 Occasions Mini Catalogue.

I hand cut the pointed ends of the banner from Poppy Parade cardstock and then layered it with the same beautiful Designer Series Paper used along the inner edge of the card.  It's called Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper and will be available after January 24th when Sale-A-Bration begins. 

I changed my take on this sketch by moving the layered square to the right hand side of the card face, instead of centering it.  Poppy Parade, Lucky Limade and Very Vanilla cardstocks were layered for the square element.  Using Versa Mark Ink and Black Embossing Powders I heat set the larger floral image from Bordering on Romance to the Very Vanilla piece.  Poppy Parade, Calypso Coral and Lucky Limeade inks were added to the floral image with an aqua painter. 

A 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon in Lucky Limade (122977 pg. 194 IB&C) was placed in the corner of the square.  A printed designer brad was added to the center of the bow.  Isn't it cute?  It's from the Everyday Enchantment Ribbon and Brad Pack in the Sale-A-Bration catalogue.  These amazing 3/8" printed designer brads come in 5 different designs and there are 5 of each type in the package.............can you say "Great Deal!!!".   I

And finally, here's the inside of my card.  As you can see I added a 1" strip of the DSP to the right hand side of the card.  The Happy Birthday Sentiment is from a set called Perfect Punches.   I've also restamped the floral image in Poppy Parade ink to the left hand side of the card. 

Perfect Punches (#117022(w) or #120516(cm) paged 140 IB&C) is an inexpensive and must-have stamp set simply for how easy it makes creating accents and focal pieces for your projects. Each image coordinates with a different punch, making stamped creations easy as 1-2-3—stamp, punch, adhere. And with a variety of sentiments, you’ll be set no matter what the occasion.   

Well there you have it.  Hope you enjoyed this card and will come back and visit again. 

2012 Search For Hostesses? Want to Party?

With the launch of the new Occasions Mini catalogue on January 4^th and the upcoming Sale-A-Bration (SAB) sales event starting January 24^th, now is the time to seriously think “party”.  Here’s some more good reasons:

• Do you have a really long wish list?
• Would you like to have a fun morning, afternoon or evening out with your friends?
• Would you like to receive exclusive Hostess stamp sets?  How about FREE SAB sets for you and your guests?
• Are you looking for new creative ideas?

If you said yes to any one of the above items, you should hostess your own Stampin' Up! party! 

 

Hosting a Stampin' Up! party is simple and enjoyable. I will work with you to create a party that's fun for everyone. Here's all you need to do:

• Set a Date and Time (click here to check out my event calendar).
• Create your guest list and find out who's coming.   Find out about the easty to use Hostess Guest Tracker on my site
• I'll contact you before your party to get a count of guests planning to attend so I can ensure that there'll be enough supplies for the fun project(s) we'll be making at your Stampin' Up! party! .
• For guests who're unable to attend your party, offer them the opportunity to place an order with you.   
• Enjoy yourself as you have fun with your family and friends. As the hostess, you may choose to provide a treat or snack for the party.  Other options are available - just ask me about them.
• Pick your Hostess Benefits when you have qualifying party sales. Hostess Benefits mean your wish list is coming true.
• The order arrives directly at your home, so you and your guests get your goodies quickly.

Stop Procrastinating...........make this the year

you start stamping, and having Fun!!! Email Me to Book your Party: 

pennyhanuszak@telus.net

Stampin' Queen's Sketch Challenge - SQSC20

Here's another great sketch challenge from Stampin' Queen's Design Team.  These wonderful and creative gals keep coming up with great challenges that allow you room to add your own touches without going over the top. 

I am so loving the beautiful stamp sets in the Occasions Mini catalogue. They have that wonderful romantic vintage look that I adore.  I hope you've had an opportunity to explore them too!  If not just click here or on the Occasions Mini Catalogue button on my sidebar to view the PDF version of the catalogue. 

I couldn't miss this opportunity to create a Thank You card using two of my new "favourite" sets, Tea Shoppe (#125547) from Shelli Gardner's Signature Collection and Take It To Heart (#125522).

Tea Shoppe #125547, from Shelli Gardner's Signature Collection

Take It To Heart #125522

Edgelits Adorning Accents #12522

And here is my card:

I chose a piece of DSP from the now retired Spice Cake papers.  I love the petite flower design and how it lends a more vintage feel to the card.  It must be winter as I'm tending to go to darker colours for my stamping and really find the Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla and Soft Suede cardstocks meet this need.  

These 3 tiny tea cups are from the Tea Shoppe Set.  I stamped them in Soft Suede on a Very Vanilla medium sized framelit and then dry embossed the small hearts on either side of the cups with the new Edgelits Adorning Accents embossing folder.   To add interest I restamped the tea cups, heat embossed them and then fussy cut out just the cup portion and mounted them with dimensionals on the original stamped image.  I sponged Soft Suede ink around the Framelit to give it some depth.

The Crumb Cake Seam Binding ribbon and bow  are punched up a notch with the addition of a Pretties kit hat pin and jewels.  I've also added some basic pearls to the beautiful label from the Take It To Heart set.  I've double cut the label in Soft Suede and in Very Vanilla Cardstock and mounted it with dimensionals.  This has to be my new favourite stamp for displaying sentiments. 

I kept the inside simple so a message can be added .  The only element is a fussy cut of the large tea cup which was stamped in Soft Suede and heat Embossed with Clear Embossing Powder.  It's mounted on Dimensionals.


Hope you like this card, I'd love to hear from you.  If you're interested in purchasing any of the new products shown above just click on my "Shop Now" button on my blog sidebar and it will take you to my Stampin' Up! website and shopping  cart.

Tuxedo Card CASE

Today I want to share with you a card I unabashedly "CASED" from Linda Aarhus (with her permission of course).  Linda is a demonstrator from Washington State who I truly admire. I often visit her blog site Polka Dots and Paper to see what's new.  Linda produces such top notch creations and this design is no exception.  I hope you'll drop by her blog and see Linda's original card. 

Here's my version. This originally started out as an anniversary card for my husband, but while I was in the midst of making it, he wandered in and said "Wow what a great Valentine's Day card that would make", so I changed it to Valentines. 

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I basically copied Linda's card with the exception of the front panel on the shirt.  Linda used a crimper to capture the look of a tuxedo shirt.  I've never managed to use a crimper properly and find my lines always come out on a bit of an angle, so decided to use the Stripes Embossing folder and it worked perfectly.

I also changed the occasion from New Years to Valentines Day as noted above, and used the sentiment "Sweet Valentine" from a "Something to Celebrate" hostess set which is now retired. 

This is a sneak peak at one of the faboulous stamps featured in the New Occasions Mini Catalogue called "You Are Loved". It's stamped in Real Red on the inside of the card.

Hope you enjoy this card and come back and visit again. 

Out with the Old and In With The New................last chance for Holiday Mini

 

Just a reminder. the countdown to midnight is on!  Did you know that at 11:59pm EST your chances of purchasing anything from the 2011 Holiday Mini will have ended?  That's right!  At the stroke of twelve, the sales period for the brand new 2012 Occasions Mini Catalogue will begin and all products from the Holiday Mini (with the exception of the ones noted in the flyer below), will have ended.  

Carry Over Items:

 

The last chance to order from the Clearance Rack and save up to 80% on merchandise is also coming to an end on January 5, 2012.

Stampin' Queen's Sketch Challenge - SQSC19

I love this latest sketch from Stampin' Queen's Designers. It's clean and simple and would lend itself well for any occasion. For my card  I chose not to modify the placement of the circle shapes although the challenge said the design could be rotated and the shapes could have been replaced, as long as the general layout was recognizable.  Here is my card:

I chose a Whisper White background layered with Island Indigo. I embossed the next layer of Whisper White with the Manhattan Embossing Folder to give it a little extra detail.  I find this combination very romantic. 

For the shapes I chose the circle image from the Just Believe stamp set featured in the 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalogue.  I've added Basic Rhinestones for the flower centers and have mounted them with dimensionals.

I just can't get enough of this beautiful ribbon.  It's so stylish and feminine.  The other wonderful thing about it is that when it's cut it doesn't fray............ now that's exciting. 

For the inside of my card I chose the frienship saying from the Bold Blossoms set.  It's stamped in Island Indigo.  I also added a 1/2" strip of Island Indigo cardstock and stamped the new border image from the Bordering on Romance stamp set, in the soon to be released Occasions Mini catalogue.  I love these long images and the extra element they add to the card.  I know they'll be seeing ink a lot this season.

A La Card Monkey Challenge 89: A Fresh Start + Sketch

New Year's is right around the corner, but before the clock ticks down there's still time for one more challenge over at A La Card Monkey. And this is another special week for me as I was lucky enough to be chosen as a Guest Designer for my Monkey 87 submission, so I'm really excited to play along with this challenge.   

http://www.pennytokensstampinspot.blogspot.com/2011/12/celebrate-decjan-birthdays-with.html

Appropriately this last Monkey Challenge of 2011 is called: Monkey 89: A Fresh Start + Sketch.  Just take a look at this adorable sketch.The Monkey Design Team did a great job choosing this sketch.  The card is a vertical fold card with an element centered and rising above the card top.  The theme can be anything that brings a fresh start to mind, so think New Year's, a new baby, a new home, a wedding or a trip.............. the possibilities are endless.

The moment I layed eyse on this adorable baby giraffe I decided to make a baby girl card.  It seems I  never have enough baby cards on hand so I'm making a "fresh start" for the New Year by pre-making some.  Here is my offering.  The card stock is 4 1/2 x 8":

For this card I chose something old and something new.  Isn't the baby sleeper adorable?  I stamped it in Soft Suede ink on a piece of Blushing Bride striped designer paper from the In Color Patterns Designer Paper Stack, # 117158 pg 186 IB&C.  I love stamping on DSP because it just adds life to the image and brings out the colours.  The Sleeper is from a retired hostess stamp set called "A Slice of Life". 

You're also getting a sneak peak at something from the new Mini Occasions Catalogue.  I've used the new Labels Collection Framelit Dies ( #125598 on page 6 ) to create the center element in layers of  Whisper White, Blushing Bride cardstock that was embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder (#117335 pg. 219 IB&C ).

This beautiful label is from a wonderful new stamp set called "Take it to Heart" which is in the Occasions Mini Catalogue on page 14.  It can be ordered in wood (125520) or clear mount (125522) versions.  The "Welcome Baby" sentiment is from the retired "Something to Celebrate" Hostess stamp set.  For a little pizzazz and feminine touch,  I've added 3 Basic Pearls (119247 pg 198 IB&C), on either side of the banner label. 

I kept the inside of the card simple adding a sentiment from the "Something to Celebrate" retired hostess set and a rattle from Button Buddies (#122735 w or122737(cm) pg. 71 IB&C).  Button Buddies is another one of those very sweet and versatile Stampin' Up sets that you'll find yourself reaching for time and again.  Although I didn't use any here, the Designer Buttons sold on pg 197 of the IB&C perfectly enhance these images. The inks used are Soft Suede from the Neutrals Collection and Blushing Bride from the 2010-11 Incolor Collection. 

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my latest card.  Hope you enjoyed it and seeing some of the newest products that will be coming your way after January 4th, 2012. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!