The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:

• Sweet touches for Sew Suite! Add a touch of realism by wrapping the Spool image with Linen Thread and add a needle! Adorn the Button Card with real buttons! Add a few stitches of your own with the Scalloped Ribbon Border Punch and Linen Thread!
• Hello! Hello from Pendant Park was inked in Early Espresso and stamped onto Naturals Ivory. It was then punched out with the Modern Label Punch. Does it look shorter than usual? It is! Simply re-punch it after the initial punching.
• Layer the labels! The Modern Label Punch was punched out of Tangerine Tango. The ends were cut off, and adhered to the back of the Hello sentiment.
• Pompoms! This trim is easily attached with Mini Glue Dots or Sticky Strip, and adds instant texture!
• Pearls! A single Basic Pearl accents a Tempting Turquoise Decorative Label for a finishing touch!

I love this set! Besides being cute, I can definitely see how it could be used to make a vintage style card, too. As for the Pompom Trim, I was apprehensive about how easy it would be to attach. However, after making this card, my worries have been dispelled!

The Skater Card Saga

This gorgeous photo was sent to me by Stephanie Uzee of Stampin’ with Suzee. It is the morning sun rising over the Hudson River, right outside her window. It reminded her of the Skater card that I posted last Thursday. How cool is that! And the good news is that I was able to re-furbish this card that Muffy the Boxer decided to “embellish” in her own style! The Snowflakes were popped off the card base and mangled and the paper snipped Skaters were torn off and unrecognizable. There were tooth marks on the back of the card, and a few of the pearls were gone. All I needed to do was remake the snowflakes and stamp and snip the skaters again. I replaced three missing pearls (I never did find them…hmm). I simply adhered this onto a new card base, and we were good to go! Whew! I did not have to redo the brayering or the framing. I am so glad that I was able to salvage it, and it really doesn’t look any worse for wear!

Stylish Blogger Award

I was also pleasantly surprised by Nikki Bond, “Bond Girl Creations”, when she awarded me the Stylish Blogger Award.

Nikki was one of the first bloggers that I visited when I began stamping. Her passion for vintage mirrors my own! I thank her for thinking of me! This award comes with some fun stipulations. They are as follows:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this
2. Share 8 things about yourself
3. Pay it forward to bloggers that you have recently discovered

Here are my facts:

1. I grew up on a small farm in Illinois. My parents raised Arabians and Quarter Horses. I showed horses until I left for college. I still look back on those years fondly.

2. I am a dog lover. I received a puppy for my first birthday, and have not been without a dog for longer than six months. Although Boxers are my breed of choice today, that first puppy was a blonde cocker spaniel, who lived for 15 years.

3. I taught high school science for 34 years, until retiring in June, 2010. My favorite class to teach was Physics.

4. I have hazel colored eyes. When I was younger, my hair had a distinct reddish tint. Now it has a distinct gray tint!

5. I survived a pulmonary embolism. It was on the first day of school eight years ago. I take a blood thinner daily.

6. I am relatively new to stamping. I became a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator on February 1st, 2009. I had started stamping only two months earlier.

7. I do all of my stamping at the kitchen/dining room table. People have asked me to post pictures of my stamping studio. I have to chuckle. I would love to have a wonderful creative space.

8. I love classic rock music of the 70’s!

Here is a sampling of bloggers I have recently discovered. These ladies have a clean and classy style which I wish I had:

Pam
Angela
Colleen
Patti

I am so happy that you stopped in to visit. I had so many things to share with you today! Plus, I am anxious to find out what you think of this new stamp set, paper and trim! Let me know what you think by leaving me a comment. And of course, I love to answer your questions, so never hesitate to email me if you have a question about the cards that I create or the techniques that I use. (And to answer one of the questions from yesterday’s post, the element on the lower right hand side of the card was simply the Holly image from Peaceful Season…no glitter, just Basic Rhinestones in place of the berries.) Until next time…

Click Here to Order Stampin’ Up! 24/7

It is time for another fabulous Paper Players challenge! With Christmas right around the corner, what could be more fitting than a Christmas Challenge? Simply make and share a Christmas card or project…the sky is the limit! Since I still needs cards to send to family and friends, I opted to make another card with my all-time favorite designer paper, Deck the Halls. I know that you are probably getting tired of it, but with this patchwork design, you could easily substitute another paper or cardstock. I am thinking that this could look very rich with Cherry Cobbler card stock! Yummy!

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:

• Patchwork! To create the patchwork pattern, I adhered and angled Deck the Halls Curly Label Punches to cover a 4-3/4″ x 4-3/4″ Brushed Gold square. (The distressed look was accomplished with a Sponge Dauber and Early Espresso ink.) Any designer paper that extended over the edge of the Brushed Gold card stock was simply cut off. How easy is that?
• The “Vintage” touch! The “Seven-Sided Tool” from the Cutter Kit quickly and easily ruffles an edge, while the Round File from the Distressing Essentials Kit can easily be used to curl up a corner!
• Age spots! Speckles are quickly added with the Color Spritzer Tool and Soft Suede Stampin’ Write Marker. Watermarks are courtesy of the French Foliage set. Ink up the image with Soft Suede and stamp off, before stamping onto the sentiment.
• Glitz and Glam! Basic Pearls adorn the patchwork where four labels meet, while Basic Rhinestones double as holly berries. A little Silver Tinsel and an Antique Brad add a bit of pizzazz, while snippets of Victoria Crochet Trim and Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding complete the look.

Do these angelic faces look like the faces of canine felons? Looks can be deceiving. Muffy Lin (yes…I am using her middle name) got into Mom’s Sponge Daubers and proceeded to distress the dining room rug. It seems as if she was in cahoots with brother Brody, who insisted that he absolutely had to go outside. I was in such a hurry, so proud of the fact that Brody was actually asking to go out, that I forgot to secure the dining room table by moving everything into the center. (I do all of my stamping at our kitchen/dining room table, and it was covered with all sorts of goodies.) And remember the beautiful skater card from Thursday? Don’t even ask…but I will make another.

The Twins are teething, which causes their ears to do “wonky” things, which is not good for the show ring. So Mom and Dad had to “post” them so they would stand up straight like the Boxers that you see on television. In fact, if you watched the National Dog Show on Thanksgiving Day, a beautiful Boxer won the Working Dog Group and was a contender for Best in Show.

Coming Up this Week:

• Blog Award from Nikki, with 8 facts about me, and fabulous picture from Stephanie
• Occasions Mini Sneak Peeks! My preorder has arrived, and I can’t wait to create and share with you. (If you need a mini, be sure to email me so I can get you on my list.)
• Pals Paper Arts Sneak Peek on Wednesday with a chance to win Glimmer Brads
• Pals Paper Arts Full Reveal on Thursday (You still have time to join us in the Regal Rose, Pear Pizzazz Color challenge.)

As always, your comments are very important to me, so please, will you let me know what you think about today’s card? And remember, if you have any questions about the cards that I create or the techniques that I use, I am only an email away! Until next time…

Click Here to Order Stampin’ Up! 24/7

Stamp Set: Peaceful Season (W 120819, C 121124—Holiday Mini Hostess Level 2); Inks: Crumb Cake (121030), Soft Suede (115657), Early Espresso (119670), Always Artichoke (105219), Soft Suede Stampin’ Write Marker (120973); Designer Series Paper: Deck the Halls (120810—Holiday Mini); Card Stock: Brushed Gold (102935), Always Artichoke (105119), Cherry Cobbler (119685); Tools: Curly Label Punch (119851), Decorative Label Punch (120907), Color Spritzer Tool (107066), Cutter Kit (106958), Distressing Essentials Kit (118762), Sponge Daubers (102892); Glitz and Glam: Basic Pearls (119247), Basic Rhinestones (119246), Antique Brads (117273), Victoria Crochet Trim (118481)

It’s Thursday, and time for our weekly Pals Paper Arts challenge! This week it’s a celebrity color challenge…and our Celebrity Guest Designer is none other than Julee Tilman – artist, owner and designer of Verve stamps, and the original Mojo Maker! Mojo Monday began as a simple card contest on her blog one Sunday in May, 2007. For a journey back through papercraft history, be sure to visit the archives of Julee’s blog, Poetic Artistry. The winners of these early challenges read like a who’s who in today’s stamping world! Although I am certainly not a “who’s who-er”, one of my proudest moments in stamping was being named one of the winners for Mojo 103. I saved the card, and never sent it!

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:

• Triple the shine! How did the Northern Frost Decorative Strip Snowflakes get so sparkly? Three coats of Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, that’s how! I brayered VersaMark ink on each of the snowflakes, and then heat embossed. I repeated this two more times, and finished each with a Pear Pizzazz Glimmer Brad. The uniquely colored snowflake in the middle was achieved by brayering Early Espresso ink over Regal Rose card stock, followed by a series of three heat embossings. (Hint: When heat embossing, I hold small pieces, such as these snowflakes, with tweezers. No scorched fingers this way!)

• Brayer a background! The lovely Regal Rose sky was simply brayered onto Very Vanilla card stock. This was then zipped through the Big Shot with the Scallop Oval Frame Bigz die. A Stamp-a-ma-jig was used to perfectly place the Early Espresso trees from Lovely as a Tree. A little Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz adds a frosty sheen to the scene! The photograph does not do the Smooch justice!
• Frame it! Early Espresso card stock was passed through the Big Shot, using the Scallop Oval Frame die once again. Basic Pearls accent the scallops.
• Snip, snip, “pop”! The “Skaters” from Winter Post were inked using Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz, and Regal Rose Stampin’ Write Markers and stamped on to Very Vanilla card stock. They were popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals after being snipped out with Paper Snips.
• A distressing situation! To tone down the lovely Pear Pizzazz Argyle pattern from Pawsitively Prints II Designer Series Paper, the edges were distressed with Soft Suede ink and a Sponge Dauber. A Soft Suede Stampin’ Write Marker and a Color Spritzer Tool add instant speckles. (Hint: Soft Suede provides a soft aged look. It is my choice of all of the “browns” for distressing.)