Hooray! It’s Blog Candy time here at The Stampin‘ Schach, and I am inviting you to play a little game entitled….Celebrate with Me! I will randomly select a winner from all comments left on my blog between now and 6:00 PM CST on Friday, October 2nd. On Saturday, I will announce the winner. If you are selected, all you will need to do is email me your address. How easy is that? You just need to leave a comment on one of my posts, and you could win the following:

• Over 50 6″ x 6″ sheets of retired Stampin‘ Up designer series paper
• 10 yards of Certainly Celery ribbon from the 2009 Sale-a-bration Ribbon Bundle
• An unmounted “Yummy” stamp set
• Four brads from the retired Soho collection
• Sixteen corduroy brads in “Grasshopper” and “Tink Pink” (non-SU!)

What am I celebrating, you ask? I have so many things to celebrate, but today I am celebrating YOU, my readers, who faithfully visit The Stampin‘ Schach and leave their words of encouragement. So…leave me a comment and let me know what you think of this candy, and what you have to celebrate!

• Place your $75 on-line order with me by 11:59 CST September 30th, and receive the Petals-A-Plenty Textured Impressions Folder absolutely free! The product total must be $75 or more excluding shipping and sales tax. (Available US only.)
• Next Email Me your shipping address.
• Your free Petals-a-Plenty folder will arrive separately from your order in mid-October, in plenty of time to create your holiday cards!
• Place an order of $150 or more, and receive a second Textured Impressions Embossing Folder for free. Choose from the following: Elegant Bouquet, Finial Press, and Manhattan Flower. (The same restrictions apply.)

Need a Holiday Mini catalog? Just send me your name and address and I will get yours in the mail the next business day!

Until next time…

Well, I tried, but I just couldn’t do it! I tried to “leave the leaves” their monochromatic shades of brown. Up bright and early, and comfortably settled in my chair, with Missy the Boxer at my feet, my objective was to create a monochromatic card in order to satisfy the criteria for this week’s Our Creative Corner challenge. However, I just had to “pop” them out a little with my new “neutral”, Old Olive! Yep! Old Olive! My mind was saying, “Nooooooo!” but my heart was saying “Just a little Old Olive won’t hurt a thing, Ann. Go ahead…grab that Blender Pen and ink pad.” Oh, well, I started out with the right intentions. And after spending so much time on this one card, I was bound and determined to finish it! I’m sorry, OCC gals! I am declaring Old Olive to be a shade of brown…at least for today!

• When preparing a square card, always prepare your card base smaller than 5-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ in order to allow it to fit into the Stampin’ Up! Medium Square Envelopes. I cut mine at 5-1/4″ x 5-1/4″ and they fit perfectly!
• When using two different designer papers, a ribbon or strip of card stock can be used to cover the interface between the two papers. With this card, we see a snippet of Chocolate Chip 5/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon hiding the borders between two selections from Autumn Meadows Designer Series Paper.
• For a rustic feel, the Color Spritzer paired with a Stampin’ Write Marker can be used to distress a background in a matter of seconds. Chocolate Chip was my color of choice!
• It’s all about the details! Why have square corners when you can use the Ticket Corner Punch and add Vintage Brads! Why stamp flat lifeless images when you can pop them up with Stampin’ Dimensionals?
• Carry out a theme! I wanted it to appear as if my wreath was mounted on a board. Mission accomplished by zipping a piece of Very Vanilla card stock through the Big Shot with one of my new favorites, the “Distressed” plate from the Textures Plates Kit #4.

• Place your $75 on-line order with me by 11:59 CST September 30th, and receive the Petals-A-Plenty Textured Impressions Folder absolutely free! The product total must be $75 or more excluding shipping and sales tax. (Available US only.)
• Next Email Me your shipping address.
• Your free Petals-a-Plenty folder will arrive separately from your order in mid-October, in plenty of time to create your holiday cards!

It’s the weekend, and I am finally getting my Mojo on! Inspired by the Mojo Monday sketch, I relied upon my Petals-a-Plenty Textured Impressions folder to create my background for this card which features my favorite trio of non-traditional holiday colors: Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, and Taken with Teal! Punches-a-plenty also come into play in creating this bling-a-licious card!

The Stampin’ Schach Tips:

• Reduce your workload by using punches whenever possible! I used the 1″ Circle Punch to punch out the “Snowflake” center from one of the Delightful Decorations ornaments. The 1-1/4″ Square Punch and Photo Corners Punch were used to create the dramatic border. And, the Jumbo Snowflake Punch created the large Rich Razzleberry snowflake.
• Texture quickly and easily adds drama to your card! Zip that card stock through the Big Shot with a Textured Impressions Folder.
• Bling it! Rhinestone Circle Brads can always be counted on to add a touch of glamour!
• Go for the unconventional! I love the look of these colors together! I think that they make for a striking card. Don’t be afraid to embrace what you like.
• If you have questions about today’s card, just leave me a comment or send me an email.

• Place your $75 on-line order with me by 11:59 CST September 30th, and receive the Petals-A-Plenty Textured Impressions Folder absolutely free! The product total must be $75 or more excluding shipping and sales tax. (Available US only.)
• Next Email Me your shipping address.
• Your free Petals-a-Plenty folder will arrive separately from your order in mid-October, in plenty of time to create your holiday cards!

Please Click Here to Order Your Stampin’ Up! 24/7!
Stamp Set: Delightful Decorations (116517—Holiday Mini)
Inks: Old Olive (102277), Rich Razzleberry (115658), Taken with Teal (103257)
Card Stock: Whisper White (100730), Taken with Teal (101584), Old Olive (100702), Rich Razzleberry (115316)
Tools: Big Shot (113439), Petals-A-Plenty Textured Impressions Folder (116824—Holiday Mini), Jumbo Snowflake Punch (116628), 1” Circle Punch (109046), Photo Corners Punch (109042)
Embellishments: Old Olive 5/8” Grosgrain Ribbon (109054), Clear Rhinestone Circle Brads (113144)