Last Minute Halloween Treat Bags

Happy Halloween everyone! I needed to make up some last minute treat bags, so I did some quick bag toppers. These were sooooo simple. Black cardstock for the base, a DP layer, some die cut circles, a variety of stamped images/sentiments, glue it all together, staple it onto the bag and it's done! Now I have to go to the craft store and figure out how to make cat ears for my DD, I couldn't find any in the two big box stores I went to last night!

Happy trick-or-treating, hope you get tons of candy!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink, Inkadinkado

Paper: Bazzill, Rusty Pickle

Ink: Versafine, Palette

Accessories: Nestabilities

Sweet Snow Angel

I've had this sweet little angel stamp from Inky Antics for a while, and it hasn't seen ink yet! So I finally put her to good use.
The tree stamp is actually two stamps. The tree itself, trunk and branches is one I carved out of hard rubber quite a while ago. It's just the bare tree. The pine needles I added using this tiny little stamp I found on Ebay. I wanted the tree to resemble the old fashioned feather trees next to my snow angel.
Hope you like!
Stamps: Inky Antics
Ink: Palette, Distress, Perfect Match
Paper: Hot press w/c paper, Cosmo Cricket, Papertrey Ink
Accessories: Nestabilities, Adhesive backed paper lace trim (unknown), Copic Spica Pens, Paper Piercing Tool

Mini Pizza Box with Plum Purdy Snowman Set

I don't make too many boxes, bags or other containers usually, but I just might have to change that! I LOVE this little pizza box template from a Splitcoast Stampers Challenge! I put a bunch of Hershey's Kisses in it, what a perfect little last minute gift and card. I love this new Ski Slope DP from Stampin Up, too, I got two packages, but I might need to get more, LOL. I think I'll be going through it fairly quickly.
Anyway, this is another snowman rubber stamp set from Plum Purdy Designs. Sadly, it doesn't look like she has any more of these sets left either. Maybe people weren't buying her stamp sets as much as she would've liked and decided to discontinue them. (Boo hoo..) But I bet that's because no one from SCS knew about them! I would looooove to see Renee Mullins making more rubber stamps using her designs. She is awesomely talented!
Here are some more pictures of the set, click on them to see them larger.

Stamps: Plum Purdy Designs, Justrite, Papertrey Ink

Paper: Hot press w/c paper, PTI kraft, Stampin Up

Ink: Palette, Distress, Perfect Match

Accessories: Nestabilities, Red grosgrain ribbon, Scor Pal, Stickles, Tombow/SU markers

Green is Gold...

Well, Nicole Heady from Papertrey Ink has outdone herself once again! When I first saw this stamp set, I thought, Oh, beautiful! Another flourish stamp set...Well, I wasn't sure I needed another one, but I took the chance, and got it. Gorgeous, don't you think? This card was very simple, but elegant at the same time. I embossed the flourishes in copper ink/clear EP. The green/gold iridescent paper is actually vellum, which I had the darndest time mounting onto the card base without the adhesive showing, so I just found a similar color of Bazzill cardstock, spread a thin, even coat of glue stick to the back of the vellum, then smoothed it down onto the cardstock. Presto! No adhesive shows at all!
I am still anxiously waiting for Spellbinders to release their labels 1 set, so until then, I improvised and made my own label shape by tracing a Bazzill chipboard shape onto paper and cutting it out by hand. (Yes, I still do that occasionally! LOL)

---Trying to stay warm in PA.
Stamps: Papertrey Ink
Ink: Colorbox, Palette
Paper: Bazzill, PTI, vellum, Stardream
Accessories: Gold ribbon from AC Moore, Clear EP

Thankful Hearts

Can you all believe it has been snowing here all day??!! A wet, slushy kind of snow, but snow nonetheless! Not even the end of October and we have this crazy weather! I just can't believe it.

Well, anyway, the kids, DBF and I are all off work and school, so I have time to catch up on all the blog posting I haven't done. I got these stamps used off of eBay and they arrived last night, so I whipped up a quick card using the fall farm scene. I love the saltbox style of the barn, very folk-art-y! Just my thing! After I colored it with Distress inks and some markers, it literally shouted to be mounted on some Cosmo Cricket 'Gretel' paper! Perfect match don't you think?
Well, I'm off to shovel snow, ughh!
Stamps: Stampin Up!, Papertrey Ink
Ink: Paletter, Versafine, Distress, Adirondack
Paper: Hot Press watercolor paper, Cosmo Cricket, Bazzill
Accessories: Olive grosgrain ribbon, Tombow/SU markers, mini sewing machine, scallop edge scissors

Blog Hop at Papertrey Ink!

My first Papertrey Ink Blog Hop! I've always wanted to participate, but I never remembered until the last minute and didn't have a card ready. So today, I am prepared.

This month's challenge was to use the usual Papertrey Ink product, but also to incorporate Polka Dots into our projects! This isn't too difficult of course, as polka dots are everywhere! I used three of the small snowflake stamps from the 'Snowfall' stamp set to stamp a background for my card. I saw this color combo on the Papertrey site when browsing for ink pads. These three colors were right next to each other and I instantly thought, WOW, they look beautiful together! So I used them here, with ink as well as the paper. LOVE the new colors!

Have fun Blog Hopping!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink, Impression Obsession

Ink: Perfect Match

Paper: Papertrey Ink, Stardream

Accessories: Nestabilities, Copic Spica Pens, Sakura Glaze Pen, PTI saddle stitch ribbon

Sweet Snowman

Isn't this little guy adorable?!! While surfing my favorite sites, some of them having been bookmarked ages ago, I came across one of my favorite decorative painting artists, Renee Mullins from Plum Purdy Designs. As I've mentioned before, I used to do a lot of decorative painting myself years ago, and the urge to paint was kind of like an itch, so I went exploring all my old faves. Well, to my surprise, when looking through the gallery, I saw a card made with one of Renee's designs in a stamp! Needless to say, I was doing a funny little happy dance and immediately placed an order for a couple of snowman stamp sets. (Which were kind of hard to find on her site, and still are!) Apparently, the snowman sets are gone now, I went back and looked after a few fellow stampers asked me about them. Maybe if there is enough interest, Renee will bring them back to her site, along with a few new ones using her awesome designs!
Anyway, I love how this card came out, I hope you do too!
Stamps: Plum Purdy Designs, JustRite
Ink: Palette, Distress
Paper: Fabriano w/c paper, Cosmo Cricket, Papertrey Ink, Stardream
Accessories: Nestabilities, PTI twill ribbon, buttons, Tombow/SU! markers

Moonlit Sleigh Ride

This picture doesn't even come close to how pretty this card looks IRL. I colored the main image with dark blue Twinkling H2O's and it shimmers and sparkles in the light. Love that stuff! I highly recommend it. Unfortunately, I cannot remember where the cabin scene and the sleigh rider stamps are from. Sorry! Before the days of storing my unmounted stamps in CD cases, I just had them thrown into a large plastic jar, and had no system for organization. Anyway, the paper is CTMH Refelections collection if I remember correctly.
Hope you like, and have a great day!
Stamps: Cherry Pie Art Stamps, Sleigh Ride Sign from Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink: Palette, Distress, Brilliance
Paper: Fabriano w/c paper, CTMH, Stardream
Accessories: Snowflakes punch from Martha Stewart and The Punch Bunch, Gold ribbon from AC Moore, Liquid Pearls, Dew Drops, Stickles, Twinkling H2O's, Tombow markers, mini sewing machine

Poinsettia Gift Box

This little gift box was made from the template on Mel Stampz blog here. It was very easy to put together with a Scor Pal. The poinsettia was made by punching out the petal shapes using a leaf shaped punch from a piece of watercolor paper I painted with a combo of Adirondack reinkers, Pearl Ex and a bit of Gum Arabic to bind it all together. The individual petals were then shaped with a plastic paper shaping tool by rubbing firmly on the wrong side of the petal until it curled up. Then I glued all the petals onto a small scalloped circle. Gorgeous, no? There's even a little Swarovski crystal in the center for some added bling. This box is almost a gift in itself, who cares what's inside, right??!! LOL.



Stamps: Papertrey Ink
Ink: Versafine, Distress
Paper: Cosmo Cricket, PTI, watercolor paper, Stardream
Accessories: Nestabilities, Adirondack reinkers, Pearl Ex, Gum Arabic, Gold cord, Swarovski crystal, Punches from The Punch Bunch, mini sewing machine

Framed Snowman Tree (Festive Tree by Penny Black)

This is one of my new favorite Christmas stamps. I saw someone use it on a card while browsing Splitcoast Stampers gallery and knew I had to have one! A quick search on eBay and it was mine, woo hoo! Gotta love eBay for finding discontinued stamps! I liked the way the image came out so much I had to frame it. Yes, it's the same frame I used for the spooky Halloween house I did a while ago, but I figure after Halloween is over, instead of putting the frame away, I can easily swap out the image with another one. I'm entering this one in the new contest JustRite has going on right now using their preinked stampers. Those little pre-inked word sets are a cinch to use!

Stamps: Penny Black, JustRite Pre-Inked Word Stampers

Ink: Palette, Distress

Paper: Fabriano w/c paper, Cosmo Cricket

Accessories: Tombow/SU! markers, Striped ribbon, Copic Spica Pens, Nestabilities, mini sewing machine

Old Fashioned Christmas Cards

I'm on the roll! It's the wierdest thing, for days I'll have no creative juices flowing, the stuff I make I'm not really crazy about and then all of a sudden--BAM! I crank out one beauty after another! Well, at least I think they're beauties. These two cards are examples of what I feel most comfortable with. Distressed, aged edges, vintage colors and homespun charm. I LOVE gingers and this stamp from Alota Rubber Stamps is just about the closest one I could find that really suits my style. Actually, there's a tiny little gingerbread guy stamp from Stamps by Judith that is totally perfect but he is just too tiny! Check out my gingerbread tree card here if you want to see what I'm talking about. I've been seriously thinking about investing in one of those make-your-own-stamp kits from JustRite because I have such oddball taste in stamps that I rarely find ones that are totally my style. I have sketch books full of drawings that I could make into my own stamps! Maybe some day...
Stamps: Alota R.S., JustRite
Ink: Palette, Versafine, Distress
Paper: Fabriano w/c paper, Cosmo Cricket, PTI
Accessories: Nestabilities, Red grosgrain ribbon, Cotton string, McGill circle punch, Tombow/SU! markers, mini sewing machine, thread

I've used this stamp before, but this time I colored it with a different color scheme. Totally different feel to it. I actually used Twinkling H2O's to color the snow, house and trees so it's got this gorgeous subtle shimmer that THE CAMERA JUST WON'T CAPTURE! Grrrr... Oh well. Hope you like!

Stamps: Stamps Happen, Papertrey Ink

Ink: Palette, Distress

Paper: Fabriano w/c paper, Cosmo Cricket, Iridescent vellum

Accessories: Twinkling H2O's, Tombow/SU! markers, Martha Stewart snowflake punch, Sizzix snowflake die set, The Punch Bunch snowflake punch, German Glass Glitter, Scribbles 3D paint, Chocolate grosgrain ribbon, Cosmo Cricket chipboard ribbon slide

Icy Blue Snowflake Card

I love the way this card came out. I may just make it the Christmas card I send out to friends and family this year. I used a tiny Swarovski crystal rhinestone for the snowflake center and it looks so pretty IRL! Then again, I would have a hard time making all the cards knowing that expensive bit of bling was probably just going to be thrown out! I shudder at the thought!
Hope you like!
Stamps: Verve Visual, Papertrey Ink
Ink: Perfect Match
Paper: Papertrey Ink, Vellum
Accessories: Swarovski rhinestone, Liquid Pearls, Stickles, Copic Spica Pen, Nestabilities, PTI stitched ribbon

Bitten by the Christmas Bug...

I'm tired of making Halloween stuff already! I had to try a couple of Christmas cards and now I can't stop. Oh well. I was able to find Cosmo Cricket's new line 'Oh Joy' and I LOVE it! I thought I loved 'Wonderland' (and I do) but their new collection is incredible. I think almost anything Cosmo Cricket puts out is awesome. They fit my style to a tee. Anyway, the first card was fairly simple, blocks of layered DP on chocolate colored shimmery cardstock. When Papertrey Ink released it's new shimmery metallic cardstocks I really wanted to get them, but they are kinda pricey. I'm all about budget, so I resisted and bought Stardream paper from California Paper Goods instead. I had purchased Stardream paper from them before, and it is beautiful. Their cardstock is heavy, and the subtle shimmer is perfect for holiday projects. Plus there are a lot more gorgeous colors!
Stamps: Verve Visual, Whipper Snapper, Impression Obsession
Ink: Palette, Distress, Adirondack
Paper: Fabriano w/c paper, Cosmo Cricket, Stardream, PTI
Accessories: Tombow/SU! markers


This card has a lot of stamping on it. I didn't have the right BG paper for what I had in mind so I stamped it entirely. The wreath was stamped with individual little stamps from Stamps by Judith. To keep them lined up in a perfect circle, I first stamped one of PTI's circles from 'Borders and Corners' then followed around with the tiny pine sprig stamp, and finally the berry sprig and pinecone. Purty!
Stamps: Papertrey Ink, Stamps by Judith, Verve Visual, Studio G
Ink: Palette, Colorbox, Adirondack
Paper: SU!, PTI, Bazzill, Stardream
Accessories: Nestabilities, Burgandy stitched ribbon, Corner rounder punch

Christmas Cards!

Yes, I am getting started making some Christmas cards already. I'll keep playing with different designs until I come up with one that I really love, and then I'll make a bunch to send out to friends and family. It could be a lot of trial and error before I come up with THE right card design, so I figured I'd better get an early start. The above card has what I think is my absolute favorite Christmas paper from Cosmo Cricket 'Wonderland' collection. I bought some more for this season because I think it is the best DP set I have seen out there yet. I love the antique style and colors. The flower is from Verve Visual, cut and layered to form the poinsettia. I applied German glass glitter to the top flower layer for an icy sparkle.
Stamps: Verve Visual, Papertrey Ink
Ink: Adirondack, Distress, Versafine
Paper: PTI, Cosmo Cricket
Accessories: Nestabilities, Antique Gold brad, German glass glitter, Wine red stitched ribbon

When I first saw the new holiday addition set for Boards & Beams from Papertrey Ink, I wasn't sure I would get it. It seemed like a lot of work to cut out each individual window/wreath and the icicles along the eaves. I eventually caved because I really wanted to use the house for Christmas cards. Well, although I love the look, it is a pain! Not to mention I don't like the fact that the perspective is a little wrong because the windows are cut out from another layer of paper, and glued on top of the house, they look like they are sticking out. Normally windows are recessed, so it doesn't look quite right. I think I will try it differently next time, I just haven't figured out how yet. Lots of masking, probably. It is gorgeous though, and I love the way this card came out. I don't think I'll be sending this type of card out to everyone on my Christmas card list though, way too much work! Maybe just a few special recipients.
Stamps: Papertrey Ink, Verve Visual

Ink: Versafine, Distress, Palette, Versamark

Paper: Fabriano w/c paper, Basic Grey, PTI, Stardream metallic cardstock

Accessories: Chocolate grosgrain ribbon, Copic Spica pens, Tombow/SU! markers, Pearl white EP