Paper, Scissors and Superheroes

Vintage Ornaments Revisited...

December, oh how I love you!  Seriously.  I love this time of year.  Crazy busyness and all. 

And since it is December first, that means it's once again time for the Papertrey Ink Sr. Team challenge.  This month the team is revisiting Dawn's Vintage Ornaments and Addtions sets.  The coordinating dies were released just a few months ago, opening up even more possibilities with these sets.  

Nichole challenged us to create both a card and some tags using these sets.  I knew I wanted to pair them up with the newer Bells & Boughs set.  Don't you just love it when a new set seems to complement an older set so well?  It just seems to breathe new life into it.  I found that with these two sets...Bells & Boughs seems like it was made to go with Vintage Ornaments!

First up, the card...

I used the same stamping/inking technique from last week's Make it Monday, except I didn't use sentiments, I used the pine branches from Bells and Boughs.  And this time I embossed a few with white embossing powder to give a fresh, frosty look.  The diecut bows from Bells & Boughs top the ornaments off perfectly.

Next, I created some shaped tags using the coordinating dies.  I layered two ornament shapes for each tag.  I used a 1" circle punch to punch a "window" in the top ornament and stamped a "to, from" sentiment inside the window.  I adhered them together with a bit of foam adhesive and topped them off with the bows from Bells & Boughs.  A white jingle bell in the center is the perfect topping.   

I thought I'd also share a few of the projects I created when Vintage Ornaments and Additions were first released...

 

Oh my... these dimensinal ornaments would be so much easier now with the dies!  To think I hand-cut those all.  Boy...I'm spoiled.  :-)

Thanks for stopping by to check out my project today!  Be sure to check out what the other gals have done with Vintage Ornaments and Additions!

Lisa Johnson
Dawn McVey
Heather Nichols
Nichole Heady
Maile Belles 

InLinkz.com

Skipping Stones Design Sketch #104

I'm playing along once more with the Skipping Stones girls and this week's sketch.  

I pulled myself out of my holiday card rut (which isn't really a rut if I'm loving it, right??) to make a birthday card based on this week's sketch.  The bird, wreath and sentiment are from the Everyday Blessings set.  I love the houndstooth pattern on the bird...too clever!  

Be sure to head over to the Skipping Stones blog to check out the other designers' takes on this week's sketch!  

I hope your week is off to a fabulous start.  It looks like it's going to be a crazy-busy one here!  The holiday hoopla is definitely in full swing, isn't it?  :-)  Take care!

InLinkz.com

Cyber Monday Sale in my Etsy Shop!

Just popping in to let you know that I'm offering a Buy 2, Get 1 Free sale on all items in my Etsy shop!  Offer is good now through Tuesday, Nov 29 at midnight EST.  If you've had your eye on something, now's the time!  :-)

A few other deals I thought I'd pass along from some of my favorite online stores...

  Two Peas is continuing their sale -- 20% off Storewide

 Ellen Hutson has 15% off storewide -- use coupon code 5yearsold

 A Walk Down Memory Lane is running lots of specials today -- 

• for 15% off your entire order, use code CyberMonday11 
• All Stamps marked down at least 25%
• Chipboard Books and Alterables, 30% off
• Maya Road and Bo Bunny products 25% off

I'm off to work on some projects.  We had a wonderfully relaxing holiday weekend, and now I'm ready to get back to work!  I hope you're feeling the same!  :-)

Calendar Project + Black Friday Deals!

Hey there.  Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you have a wonderful day planned...filled with eating, family, eating, friends, eating.  You get the picture.  

We are planning on having a quiet day.  Church in the morning, then home to hopefully work on putting out more of my Christmas decorations (got the tree up yesterday!!), then supper by my mom with my extended family.  

I've been working on some calendars for a friend of mine that asked me to make some for gifts for her grown children, so I thought I'd pop in and share one with you.  She wanted something they could hang on the wall and mark down the family birthdays and anniversaries.  I used Nichole's Birthday Book download from her post HERE about birthday organization.  

This one is for her son, so I made it masculine, using Basic Grey's Oxford collection and some images from Through the Trees and the deer from In the Meadow.  The sentiment is from Technique Tuesday and I thought it was perfect for this sort of perpetual calendar.

I edited it Nichole's birthday page file just a bit using PSE, erasing the word "birthday" from below each month.  I wanted them to be able to include anniversaries and such too.

The binding was a bit tricky, as I had to come up with a way that these could be hung, but would also allow for the pages to turn, and still have the hanger stay in the proper place.  I played around a bit and came up with something that works quite well.  I first punched all the way across the top with my Bind-it-All, then used a 1" circle punch to puch a 1/2 circle from the center of the top edge.  The 1" punch removed two of the Bind-it-All punch holes, so I then bound each side seperately.  I took some heavy wire and ran it through the binding rings, creating a hook in the gap between the two sets of rings.  The punched 1/2 circle allows for just enough room that the pages can turn and pass over the hook.  Clear as mud?  :-)

 

That's all for my project today, but before I go, I thought I'd share a few Black Friday deals with you from some of my favorite online stores.  If you're like me, you completely avoid the whole in-store Black Friday madness...if I do any shopping that day it's online.  I hate crowds!!  

So here's the scoop...

Two Peas is running 20% off their entire store!!!  (non=-digital, non-phaseout product only) Good through Monday the 28th.

Simon Says Stamp has a section of Black Friday deals you can check out HERE

Scrapbook.com is running some various sales now through Monday, with a different tool and manufacturer being featured each day.  Click HERE to see the details for each day.  If you've had your eye on any of the "big" tools, you might just be in luck!

Happy shopping and Happy Thanksgiving!!  I just love this time of year when the holidays kick off.  So many fun things to do!

InLinkz.com

Skipping Stones Design Sketch #103

It's Tuesday and that means it's sketch day once again on the Skipping Stones Design blog.  I'm playing along again this week with sketch #103....

Here is my take on the sketch...playing around once again with the Rustic Tiles set.  Such a great staple set!  

I added some flowers, a sentiment banner, and clear acetate ribbon accent from the LYB Wonder & Wishes collection.

Thanks for stopping by today!  

Finished size = 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

InLinkz.com

New Make it Monday Video

Good Monday afternoon to you!  It's my turn for Papertrey's Make it Monday over on Nichole's blog.  This week we are playing around with using sentiments to create subtle, layered backgrounds.  Here's a peek of the project in this week's video.

I just thought I'd pop in and share another card using this same technique.  It's something I've really been enjoying adding to my projects lately and it's really a very simple idea for using some of your stamps in a slightly different way.  I always love that, I don't know about you.

For this card, I used some of the larger script sentiments from Big & Bold Holiday Wishes, along with the "peace" sentiment from Peace Be Still to create the subtle background.  I used the same inking technique around my edges that I showed in the video.  The words in the background were stamped with Grass ink from A Muse Studio, stamped off once, sometimes twice.  The snowflakes are stamped with Currant (also from A Muse) and stamped full power, or stamped off once.  I also included some flourishes from Fancy Flourishes, stamped in the corners using Latte ink.  The main focal sentiment is from Stylish Sentiments: Holiday.

 

I hope you'll join me and play around with this week's technique!  

 Finished size = 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

InLinkz.com

 Supplies for card featured in video -- Finished size = 6 x 4 1/4"

InLinkz.com

365 Cards Winner!

Sorry this is late in coming!  I loved hearing all of your favorite things about October.  From pumpkin seeds, to Dunkin' Donuts pumpkin muffins, to cool, sunshiney days, Halloween, and the glorious autumn colors...I agree...there's so much to love about October.  

The winner for the 365 Cards giveaway is....

Congrats, Linda B.!  Email me using the link on the left and I'll get your info passed on so your issue can get on its way to you!

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, thanks for all of your sweet and encouraging comments! 

No project today, but hopefully I'll be back soon with some things to share!

Stamp Sale Coupon Code...

 

Just a quick note that I thought you might be interested in!  Ellen Hutson is holding a stamp sale...20% off ALL in stock stamps!  What a great deal!  :-)  Use the code stampit2 at check out.  Offer good now through Thursday only!  Enjoy!

P.S.  It's busy around here today!  I have two other posts up today, so be sure to scroll down or click HERE to see my PTI November release projects or HERE if you're stopping by for the Skipping Stones blog hop!

I'm off to snuggle with a feverish little one.  :-(

 

Skipping Stones November Blog Hop!

*note:  if you're looking for my Papertrey release post, click HERE or scroll down.  Thanks!

Welcome to Sketch Challenge # 102, showcasing the Skipping Stones Featured Stamp Set of the Month, Rustic Tiles!   Rustic Tiles is a gorgeous and versatile set...I used it on last week's card as well, and I'm anxious to play around with it even more!

If you just came from Shannon Teubner's blog, you are in the right place.  If you just happened along my blog today, start at the beginning of the hop at Skipping Stones Design.  The entire hop order is there and you can hop from blog to blog with ease.

This week's sketch (by Chan Vuong)...

And my take on it using the featured Rustic Tiles set...

I used just one of the tile images and stamped it several times in different ink colors.  I stamped the ones in the upper corner on the diagnal and let them flow off the edge of the paper...I love how it gives them a totally different look.

I also stamped it a couple of times straight on to act as a grounding for the chipboard sentiment.  The small stamped sentiment below the chipboard alphas is from Heartsong...everything is linked in the thumbnails at the bottom of this post.  

Be sure to hop along and leave comments on all the fabulous designers’ blogs.  This month they are also welcoming Jimmi Mayo,  Jessica Griffin, and myself to the team as Guest Designers!  Chan Vuong will be providing all the fabulous sketch inspiration this month including the sketch we're using in today's hop!

Head over to Kandi Phillips' blog for some more Skipping StonesDesign inspiration!

InLinkz.com

November Release Projects...

Welcome to a bit of change!  The Papertrey DT girls will now be posting any projects they created for that month's release that havn't been posted on their blogs yet at 11:30 EST on the night of the release.  This way you can have a bit of time to browse through everyone's projects and fine-tune your shopping lists!  Yay!  I know many people were requesting this, so hopefully you'll find it a nice addition to the countdown festivities.  

So without further ado, the remainder of my November Papertrey release projects.  Complete supply lists for each project can be found at the bottom of this post!

First off is a card using By the Numbers.

I created a very colorful stamped border by stamping the numbers all around the edge.  I double-stamped them to create a shadowed effect.  

Next up is a notecard set using Flower Fusion #10...

I'm loving that little banner from the Door to Door Accessories die set and think it's a fun little piece to add almost anywhere!

The pocket here was created by diecuting two pieces using the Envelop Liner die.  I stitched them together and folded the front flap down to create a kind of fun band/flap.  Very easy to do!

Next is a soft and neutral card using Willow.

I added the wings from Love Lives Here: Christmas die collection and some Smokey Shadow twill along with some pretty papers from My Mind's Eye.

Next up is a gift bag using the new Tag-its #10 set.  For some reason I glanced at that pointy banner across the circle and I saw monster teeth.  So I had no choice but to create a little monster.  What's a girl to do?  :-)

He was easy to create with some layering using both the 1 3/4" and 2 1/2" Limitless Layers: Circles dies and a little handcutting from felt for the horns.  The eye is just some circle punches, a button and a black gem.

Last but not least is Winter Penguin.  These little guys are just so cute!  

I cut them from True Black felt and paired them with a sentiment from Christmas Friends.  

Thanks for stopping by and happy release night shopping!  Here are the links to the other gals so you can check out the remainder of their release projects as well!

• Ashley Cannon Newell
• Danielle Flanders
• Jess Witty
• Erin Lincoln
• Maile Belles
• Nichole Heady
• Lisa Johnson
• Dawn McVey
• Debbie Olson
• Heather Nichols
• Melissa Phillilps
• Michelle Wooderson

  Finished size = 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Supplies not linked, but available on Nov 15th from Papertrey Ink:  By the Numbers stamp set

InLinkz.com

 Finished size:  Cards = 3 1/2" x 5".  Pocket = 5 1/2" x 4"

Supplies not linked, but available on Nov 15th from Papertrey Ink:  Flower Fusion #10 Stamp set and die, Door to Door Accessories die collection

InLinkz.com

 Finished size = 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Supplies not linked but available on Nov 15th from Papertrey Ink:  Willow stamp set and coordinating die, Smokey Shadow Twill

InLinkz.com

  Finished size = 6x6

Supplies not linked but available on Nov 15th from Papertrey Ink:  Tag-its #10 stamp set

Other:  Sassafras Lass Monstrosity patterned paper

InLinkz.com

 Finished size = 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Supplies not linked, but available on Nov 15th from Papertrey Ink:  Winter Penguin stamp set and dies

InLinkz.com