Free Digital Downloads Oct 29 - Nov 5, 2012

Have you checked out the FREE Digital Downloads that you can get until 11:50pm Mountain time today?   If not don't delay.  Even if you haven't tried the MDS FREE Trial you can still use these awesome downloads with other digital programs. 

TREASURE HUNT WINNERS - OCT. 31, 2012

I want to thank those of you who participated in the Fall Late Night Stampers Treasure Hunt blog hop.  I hope you had fun! I know that the 50 LNS who sponsored the Treasure Hunt on their blogs had a great time and really enjoyed the comments and increased visitors to their sites.  I know I really did.   

 

As promised, Sherill Graff drew for the $150 Grand Prize winner on October 31st.  And, because Sherill is Sherill and this was such a successful blog hop, she generously added a second Grand Prize of $150 as well as a prize of $50 in Stampin' Up! merchandise to one of the 50 participating LNS for posting and participating in the hunt too.  How awesome is that? Thanks Sherill for your generosity and congratulations to these lucky winners:

• Tricia Miller won $150 in Stampin' Up Merchandise
• Daniela Capparelli won $150 in Stampin' Up! Merchandise
• Diana Soling (minookastamper) is the demonstrator who won $50 in SU product for posting a clue on her blog.

I 'm also giving a prize to one lucky gal who visited my blog and left a comment on my original fall Treasure Hunt post.  My husband assisted me in drawing a name from the hat, and the winner of my prize is:  Deanie

Deanie said...

This treasure hunt has been such FUN and I enjoyed doing it and finding all the clues....Thanks for offering xtra blog gifts--And I hope I win something as we moved last year to a new house and I am getting my stamp area arranged so that I can start stamping and punching again--I love punch creations!!!

Congratulations Deanie. Please email me your contact information so you can claim your prize. 

FREE Festive Paper-Piercing Pack Promotion

Just a reminder, October is coming to an end, if you want to take advantage of this FREE offer.   

The clock is ticking and there's less than two days left to get your FREE Festive Paper-Piercing Pack when you purchase the Ornament Keepsakes Set and Candlelight Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper Bundle.  Check out the details here:

 



 

 

Digital Scrapbooking Day - Oct 29 to Nov 5, 2012

 

 

What do you get when you combine Digital Scrapbooking Day and My Digital Studio? A week of FREE downloads and 50 percent off ALL digital kits!  

 

What: FREE downloads. 50% off ALL digital kits. Mega blogging on MyDigitalStudio.net all week!

 

When: October 29-November 5, 2012

Where: Check out this information

• Get your FREE downloads here (US/CAN).
• Get your digital kits-ALL 50% off-here (US/CAN).
• See project ideas and tips all week on MyDigitalStudio.net.Share the digital love, and get even more in return! Tell your friends (and hey-even your enemies) because if we get all the free items downloaded 18,000 times, we'll give a fourth one to everybody for FREE.

 

October 29th Spooktacular One Day 15% Off Sale

What's So Special About Oct 29???? Thu, 25 Oct 2012 12:36:57

Stampin' Up! is having their first-ever SALE on STAMPS!!!  And, it's happening for only one day - October 29th!

 

If you've been holding off on your WISH LIST, now's the time to act because you can buy almost every stamp in the current catalogue and get 15% off.  So don't delay Stampin' Up!s Spooktacular-24-Hour-Sale ends at 11:50pm MT October 29th!

 

GET 15% OFF ON:

 

• Background Stamps
• Personalized name stamps pg:
• Cookie Press Stamps
• Single Image Stamps

NOTE:  This special offer DOES NOT INCLUDE hostess sets, bundled stamp sets, digital stamp brush sets.

So shop now! There’s no minimum purchase, and no limit to the number of stamps you can order.

 

 

Halloween Treats

 

 

Fall is definitely here.  There's a chill in the air and the beautiful coloured  leaves have fallen from the trees. It won't be long until that magical time when little ghosts and goblins are roaming the streets.  What fun!

Today I received my first Halloween card in the mail, a subtle reminder it's time to get busy making my own cards and treats.  

My sister Heather made this delightful card featuring the Frightening Feline single stamp from the Holiday Catalogue (pg. 26). When I pulled this card from it's envelope I  just had to giggle. I'm sure you'll agree it's simply the cutest!  I couldn't wait to call her and let her know how much we loved it.  What a great touch those feathers and sentiment are!

Heather typed her "What Bird?????????????" on the computer and then printed it out on Whisper White cardstock.   Sometimes when you can't find the right sentiment this is really the way to go.  If you're short of sentiments you should check out MDS 11 because the new programs have unlimited sentiment choices.  You can try out MDS II for FREE for a 30 day trial, just click here to find out more!

 

Every Stamp in the Book Swap -Spotlight Cards

A few weeks back I told you about Wanda Dodds a Stampin' Up Demo from the Pas Manitoba and the 2012: Canadian All Catalogue Swap that she orchestrated single handedly. 

I simply don't know how she did it.  She received over 4700 cards that had to be sorted and distributed to all the players.  Imagine every space in her house covered with cards.  Wanda did a marvellous job and got the swaps safely off on their way. 

Tonight I'm going to share the cards I received for Nature 16 +1.  Unfortunately some folks didn't put any identifying information on their cards, but if they read this note or if you know who they are send me their information so I can give proper credit for their creation.


Ginger Morgan of Oh My Stamps blog created this absolutely "joyful" Christmas card in Cherry Cobbler and Gumball Green card stock and inks. She's used the Perfect Punches stamp set for her sentiment and punched it out with the Scallop Circle punch. I love how she used the Labels Collection Framelits to give focus to the center of her card and the beautiful stamped image from the Best of Everything stamp set. She's added a bit of bling by adding berries on the leaf spray with tiny dots of Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details and on the little bird's wing. Nice touch Ginger!

And, I absolutely love the background treatment on this card front. She's embossed a 5 1/4" x 3 inch piece of Whisper White card stock with the Petals a Plenty Embossing Folder, and then cut 3 1" strips to layer on the card front. By colouring the dots in the center of each flower with a Cherry Cobbler
marker, she's added an additional interesting focus, without going over the top. Just a delightful card. Thanks Ginger.



You can see a bit of the glimmer on the bird's wing and on the leaves in this photo. The new ink pads make such a great impression.

 

  

This great masculine card was designed by Shari Howetts and is created with the Countryside stamp set.  She's done a great job of layering her card stocks and the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch outs. Shari has done some very light colouring of the image with markers and then she made the trucks' windows look so realistic by adding Crystal Effects to the panes.

 

Another great feature of this card is the small scallop circle punch that puts the spotlight on a single apple which is mounted with dimensionals on red card stock on the inside of the card. 

 

Beth Schreiber designed this very cute card using Bright Blossoms and Wacky Wishes one of this year's great Hostess sets.  Contact me to find out how you can earn this set for FREE. 

This cheery little card has the portal layering done with  1 3/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, so you can see the cute little bouquet of flowers on the inside of the card.  She's use Floral District Designer Paper for the  bottom of her card and a piece of Baja Breeze seam binding.  A very quick and easy card that has a cute wow factor. 

 

 

 

 

This beautiful card did not have any information with it so I am unable to give credit to the designer.  I can't think of the name of this style of card either but the base card stock measures 8 1/2" x 4 1/4" and its folded at the top.  The layer with the stamping on it measures 4 3/4" x 3 1/2" and decreases by 1/4" on each layer. 

 

This card is made with Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder and Whisper White card stocks.  The beautiful flower and sentiment are from the Blooming with Kindness stamp set.  The background layer was dry embossed with the new Fancy Fan Folder embossing folder.  All in all this is a well-stamped and designed card.  I love it. 

 

This card created by the very talented Heidi Weaver from Blackfalds, Alberta showcases the Cherish Friendship Stamp Set.  I loved the colour mix of So Saffron, Lucky Limeade and Calypso Coral and the embossed outline which was created with the Framed Tulips Folder.

Here's a view of the inside of Heidi's card where she's stamped the sentiment from the Cherish Friendship set,  "Friends are kind to each other's hopes and cherish each other's dreams", and a small flower image from Mixed Bunch.  Nicely done.  When you're checking out Heidi's blog Stampin With Heidi,  be sure to read her post on Swap Intervention, it's hilarious, and oh so true!

This gorgeous triple stamp technique card was made by marylondic@hotmail.com.  She's used two stamp sets for the background and sentiment on this card.  The background is stamped with the 6 piece By The Seashore set. The "Thanks a Million sentiment is from the 12 piece stamp set Word Play.  If you like this stamp check out this promotion for Single Stamps, it could be yours for very little outlay.

 

What I liked about this card was the mix of colours for the shells - Pool Party, Tempting Turquoise, Island Indigo and Midnight Muse.  This combo really gives you the feeling of being at the ocean.  I also loved the Large Pearl Basic Jewel.  Thanks Mary this is a great card!

 

This lovely card was created by Rochelle Hewitt. The background card stock is Baja Breeze and the sand was created by tearing Crumb Cake card stock and layering it.  The seashells are from the By The Seashore set.  Each of the seashells has been hand cut and mounted to the card front with dimensionals.  Two layers of Early Espresso Baker's Twine were wound around the card stock.  The "happy birthday" sentiment is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set and is stamped on a piece of crumb cake card stock and then cut out with one of the banners from the new Bitty Banners Framelits set.  .

This beautiful "Thank You" card by Diane Lebrun from Ponoka Alberta simply took my breath away.  The floral stamp is one of 7 images in a set called Field Flowers which is available in wood and clear mount styles.  I like the way Diane chose to use the "Thank You" sentiment from one of my all time favourite sets, Perfect Punches.  

This beautiful bow was created with 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon.  I like the two-toned weaving - lighter tone on the inside and darker tone on the edges.

Amber Meulenbelt of StampwithAmber, created this really elegant fall card using the Gently Falling and Tiny Tags stamp sets.  The card base is Soft Suede and a layer of Early Espresso has been embossed with the new Woodgrain Embossing Folder.  She's used a combination of inks including Soft Suede, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze and Cherry Cobbler to colour the leaf.  A card with a real fall feel to it.  Thanks Amber.

This beautiful little tag is punched out using the Jewelry Tag punch after the sentiment has been stamped on it.  Love the way Amber used the Early Espresso Baker's Twine to wrap this card layer. 

 

 

Patricia Nobuto created this bold and bright birthday card with the Build a Blossom stamp set and the Blossom Petals Builder Punch.  She's also used the Extra Large Oval Punch in a unique way on the front of this card.  I love the combination of Elegant Eggplant and Summer Starfruit cardstock and ink. 

 

I really liked the way Patricia punched the oval from the front cardstock piece and then adhered the "happy birthday" sentiment from the Perfect Punches set on dimensionals on the inside of the card.  It's like a really nice treat.  Great card Patricia and one I plan to demonstrate in a card class in the Spring.

 

This card didn't have any information on it so I'm unable to give kudos to the creator.  Too bad, because this is an outstanding card.  The yellowy gold background cardstock was created using the Shaving Cream technique on Shimmery White Card Stock.  The sweet  little bird is from a $10.95 stamp set called Blissful Bird and it has been punched out using the Bird Builder Punch

The bird is stamped in Tangerine Tango and mounted on Soft Suede cardstock.  A small basic rhinestone was used for the bird's eye. 

Isn't this torn paper technique wonderful for show casing a small sentiment?  I really liked the way the "thinking of you" words are showcased.  This is just one of 24 sentiment stamps in a set called Teeny Tiny Wishes, a fabulous set that covers almost ever occasion.  

I really enjoyed this French Foliage card by Hetty Jones of Alberta, Canada.  She's done a stunning job of colouring the leaves in More Mustard, Bravo Burgundy, Tangerine Tango and Always Artichoke inks.  Hetty has also made good use of the Window Frames Collection Framelits and the Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  To achieve a realistic wood grain look she's sanded the embossed die cut. 

This close-up shows off some of the beautiful detail in the colouring and stamping.  Hetty has layered the stamp images to  create a beautiful montage effect.  Simply lovely!  Thanks Hetty.

 

This terrific card has a lot going on for it, unfortunately I don't have the name of who made it.  The Flock Together stamp set was used to stamp the wonderful cage in Night of Navy.  The birds were stamped in Delightful Daffodil.  The background DSP is from the Birds of a Feather.  The medallion in Midnight Muse is die cut with the new Delicate Doilies Sizzlits die.  Really awesome.  The banners are made with the new Bitty Banners Die Cut and matching stamp set Itty Bitty Banners.  Really cute!

 

I fell head over heels for this stunning fall card made by DiAnne Hill from Nanoose Bay, BC.  DiAnne cased this card from Loll Thompson at http://stampingwithloll.blogspot.ca. 

 

The Gently Falling Stamp set was used to create these beautiful leaves which were hand cut.  Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze markers were used along with a water spritzer bottle to colour the leaves which were stamped in Early Espresso onto Watercolour Paper.  The other finishing touches on this card are the Linen Thread wrap at the top of the card, a piece of Neutrals Colour Collection DSP for the background paper and the beautifully scrolled "Thinking of You" sentiment stamp from the Curly Cute set.  Although I don't have a picture of the inside of this card, it has the image of one of the smaller leaves from the Gently Falling stamp set cut out and mounted on the bottom right hand inside corner of the card. 

 

DiAnne used the Watercolor Spritz technique to perfection.  I love the white spaces she's left on these leaves, which really lends a sense that they're real.  Beautifully coloured DiAnne.  Take a bow!

 

This beautiful vibrant card actually put a smile on my face the moment I laid eyes on it.  It was created by Chris Hnatiuk from Calgary Alberta.  It seems like there are a lot of really talented stampers in Alberta, and Chris is one of them.  No wonder Stampin' Up located their Canadian Head office there. 

Chris used an extremely popular set called Betsy's Blossom for her friendship card.  From the giant Chrysanthemum to the  small flower images, bird and leaves, this six piece stamp set is one to have in your collection! You'll find it on page  72 of the 2012-13 Idea Book and Catalogue.  The card base is in Calypso Coral, followed by a strip of  Pool Party that's been cut with the Large Scallop Edgelit and stamped in Pool Party with one of the smaller floral images.  The next layer, a strip of Lucky Limeade DSP that's been embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing folder adds a beautiful contrast and texture to the card.  But, Chris wasn't finished her layering yet, she's topped all of this with Basic Black and Whisper White card stocks that have been cut out with the Apothecary Accents Framelits.  The bold Chrysanthemum was stamped in Calypso Coral on Whisper White and then punched out with the 2 1/2" circle punch.  A small piece of 1/8" Basic Black Taffeta Ribbon has been mounted on a small circle of basic black to showcase thecenter of this flower.

 

Here you can see more of the detail Chris has added including a strip of Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon, an Antique Brad, a sentiment from the Petite Pairs 18 piece stamp set.  These have been layered on a piece of basic black cardstock punched out with the Scalloped Oval punch. Beautiful details that make this card so special.

The inside of Chris' card is just as professionally done as the outside.  I love the flower design from Betsy's Blossoms, a unique way to use the stamp that adds such a nice touch!

Heather Leech created this very bright and happy, birthday card.  The card base is Daffodil Delight card stock topped with a layer of Whisper White and a strip of Summer Smooches DSP and a piece of Real Red cardstock that's been embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder.  Heather added a piece of Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon around the center of the card.  The wonderful little flower stamped on the Whisper White circle is from the Bright Blossoms stamp set.  She's added a Basic Pearl to the center of the flower for some pizzazz.  This simple image is layered with a 1 3/8" circle of Daffodil Delight and a Lucky Limeade Scallop Circle.  The happy birthday sentiment was stamped in Lucky Limeade ink on Whisper White  and then cut out with the Word Window punch.  This piece was then adhered to a Lucky Limeade piece of cardstock that was cut out with the Modern Label Punch.  This is a sweet card!

 

 

 

Well that's it for the cards I exchanged in Wanda's swap.  I'd just like to say that I'm very pleased with all the cards I received. Here's a parting look at my card.  All the details are in this post: