A Week Late @ Sunday Stamps!

I know, I know, I'm a week late posting my Sunday Stamps design! When I didn't get it posted last Sunday and next thing I knew it was Wednesday, I figured I would just wait until the following Sunday. Hope you don't mind. :)

I kept my card super simple. Using the Note Cards & Envelopes, I simply stamped one of the pansy's from Flower Shop, popping the middle one up with Dimensionals. I stamped the image again inside and on the envelope too.

I'm sure you already have, but if not, please stop by to see what the rest of the Design Team has created, leave them some love & hope you'll play along with us! There's still one week to play...

 Until next time, stay crafty!

Steph

RECIPE
Paper: Note Cards & Envelopes (Whisper White)
Ink: Calypso Coral, Crumb Cake, Bermuda Bay
Stamps: Flower Shop
Tools: Pansy Punch

Where Are You?

Is something you may have been asking? Well, I've been swamped with prepping for shows, motherhood, house renos, etc. I had a very successful show last week. One of the best sellers were these tiny tins (intended as a hostess gift). In the tin I included 40 various gift tags and a roll of tape to give the recipient everything they needed for gift giving.

Well, people loved them so much, they were also buying them for themselves. I sold out and had orders for 20+ more!! So guess what I've been doing... making over 800 tags and trying for more because I would like to have these available at my show on the 3rd too! Anyway, thankfully a good portion of my tags came from the awesome Pop & Place Holiday Gift Tags. You can make 70+ tags and the stamp set is perfect. Leave it to me to stretch this kit to the limit!! I used every punch, every template and every piece of scrap I can use from the entire booklet, including the front & back covers. Pictures of the tags will come soon, but I also wanted to share with you that I created several cards with it too. Here's one of them:

The Crumb Cake frame is indeed from the booklet. All I did was emboss it, mount it, did a little stamping and viola! Each booklet got me 4 of these cards and I can't wait to show you what else I created with them. Think again before you discard all those pieces you think you don't need. ;)

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE
Paper: Soft Suede, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler
Ink: Cherry Cobbler
Stamp Set: Joyful Christmas
Tools: Big Shot, Fancy Fan TIEF, Heat Gun, Embossing Powder - Silver & Cherry Cobbler
Accessories: Jewels

Gold Foil

I am so ridiculously busy prepping for my upcoming shows (first is this Monday), but I just had to show you this card I made last night:

I just about screamed when it was all put together. The Gold Foil in the Holiday Catalogue is TO DIE FOR! I've done a similar card to this a couple of years ago, but it doesn't even compare to this one. I hope you love it too... and feel the need to get some Gold Foil paper. Love all the gold (and usually I'm not a "gold" person). I even gold-embossed the inside message. ha.

I'll be stocking up on this stuff for sure!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE
Paper: Gold Specialty Paper, Gold Foil
Stamps: Love and Laughter
Tools: Big Shot, Manhattan Flower TIEF, Heat Gun

Nothing But Embossing

So, if you don't know by now, I sell all my cards and today I have some quick and easy ones to show you. In fact, the reason for having ignored my Blog for the last several days is because I'm preparing for a big show on Monday.

After this year's retirement of colours and products, I was left with a lot of product, paper especially. I sold some off and have come up with several projects to help use up the remainder that I can no longer demonstrate with... but that I still love and can utilize in my card sales. Of course, I'd like to share these ideas with you too!

These cards are so simple and I love them! I went with tone-on-tone and each layer is embossed and popped up on the base. I have made several different varieties using many of my embossing folders, some specific to special occasions, like birthdays, and others like this one featured here that can be used for any occasion.

You can view most of my varieties here. I sell them in packs of three, with envelopes for $6.00.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE
Paper: Lucky Limeade
Tools: Big Shot, Manhattan Flower TIEF

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians out there! I saved this turkey card especially for today. How cute is he?! I CASEd it from Sandie Conner, you can find her card here. I couldn't resist. :)

This little guy was pretty easy to make thanks to the Owl Builder Punch (you cut the ears off). Next, simply cut some ribbon, fold (held together with glue dots) and stick to the back of your turkey. The whites of the eyes and the wattle are also from the same punch - the wattle is the heart. I cut the beak free-hand.

After stamping the sentiment for the front that reads "Thanks is for giving", I thought it would be cute for the inside of the card to say "...and turkey eating! Happy Thanksgiving!!" so I created the inside in MDS.

If you would like to purchase this card, you can do so here.

Until next time, stay crafty!

Steph

 RECIPE
Paper: Crushed Curry
Stamps: Seasonal Sayings
Tools: 2-1/2" Circle Punch, Owl Builder Punch
Accessories: Gumball Green Satin Stitched Ribbon, Tangerine Tango Satin Ribbon (SAB 2013)

Fall Pumpkin

A couple of Blog posts back, I talked about how I utilize MDS for everything. Here is another example of what can be done with it:

This is a CASE, but now I cannot find the card online to give proper credit! I found it on Pinterest and thought I had pinned it, but unfortunately did not. I tried searching for it again, but don't remember how I came across it in the first place. I will keep an eye out...

Anyway, I ran my card base through the printer after creating the text in MDS. I fit two per page. Then I embossed two pieces of card stock in the same base colour and adhered to the base. You thought I was going to tell you how to emboss around the text, weren't you?! ;)

Next, I punched three ovals using the XL Oval Punch, embossed and glued together. The pumpkin stem was created with the Modern Label punch.

If you would like to purchase this card, you can do so here.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE
Paper: Baked Brown Sugar, Pumpkin Pie
Stamps: Occasions Alphabet
Tools: Big Shot, Square Lattice TIEF, Perfect Polka Dots TIEF, Punches: Modern Label, XL Oval
Accessories: Twine
Techniques: Punch Art

Falling Leaves

It's the countdown to Thanksgiving here in Canada, so as you may have noticed already, I've been showcasing fall and Thanksgiving cards this week. :) It's my favourite time of year!

I used the masking tape technique for this card. I think it's a perfect fit! It created a rustic-looking base layer to my card. I used my oh-so-favourite, but sadly retired, French Foliage stamp set and then added some burlap for added texture. Truth be told, it was added to cover up a sentiment I didn't like. :) I'm glad to have made that mistake because the burlap really works for me. It give the card a lot of texture and dimension, plus, the smaller sentiment works better than what I previously used.

If you're interested in purchasing this card (and seeing more pictures of it), you can do so here.

Until next time, stay crafty!

Steph

RECIPE
Paper: Naturals White, Chocolate Chip
Stamps: French Foliage (retired), Teeny Tiny Wishes
Tools: Decorative Label Punch, Distressing Tool
Accessories: Brads, 1-1/4" Burlap Ribbon
Techniques: Masking Tape, Distressing

Truly Grateful

I love My Digital Studio (MDS)! I use it all the time. I use it to create all my signage and advertisments for my business (including my business cards) and I utilize it a lot for making hybrid cards.

I loved the Truly Grateful stamp set when I first saw it in the Holiday Catalogue. But let's face it, it was one of many that I loved on my very long wish list. As I searched the online store, I discovered the digital stamp set and I did a little happy dance!

Now, there are things that you couldn't do with a digital brush set - emboss it for one thing, but there are lots of things that you can do. You can resize a stamp image (enlarge to a certain extent without pixelating it), colour it and place it anywhere you want. I created my harvest layer to the exact size I wanted. I fit four on a page, along with my sentiment and a few other digital images from the set for the inside.

I printed the sheets on my home printer, cut and punched and then I layered with some other items to create a hybrid card. For MDS, I am truly grateful. :)

If you love my work, aren't crafty, or just don't have the time, you can purchase this card in my online store here.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE
Paper: Naturals Ivory, Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry
Stamps: Truly Grateful Stamp Brush Set (MDS)
Tools: Artisan Label Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Distress Tool, Chevron TIEF
Accessories: Brads, 1-1/4" Burlap Ribbon

Birthday Cake

Today's post is later than I had hoped, but I hope it was worth the wait! ;)

I created this card a few weeks ago for a dear friends' birthday. It was perfect because this card requires hand-delivery and we were going out for tea, so she had this card displayed on the table the entire time for her birthday celebration. Isn't the cake tea light adorable?! I found it on Pinterest (of course!) and you can find the awesome tutorial here on Jill George's Blog.

I didn't follow it exactly. I didn't bother with the separate template for the "icing". I just found the middle on the back, punched a hole and then cut slits that were long enough so that my flame could slide through.

On the back of the card, I punched a hole with the labels punch pack so that the switch could be turned on and off. My friend love it and I think I'll be making a bunch of mini cakes now. :)

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE
Paper: Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, SAB DSP
Ink: Perfect Plum
Stamps: Simply Sketched
Tools: Punch Pack, 1-3/4" & 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Punches, Labels Punch Pack
Accessories: Jewels, Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

It's a Sketch Week!

Well, a sketch week for two weeks that is! If you didn't know already, Sunday Stamps is a bi-weekly challenge now... leaves you plenty of time to join us!! This time around, Marie has a great sketch for us. It's her first time hosting a sketch, so show her some love and play along, won't you?

I kept my card fairly simple. Only one layer and no "bling". Gasp! I love it though. I added a couple more pieces than what appear in the sketch, but the basic elements are all there and that's what sketch challenges are all about.

Since next weekend is Thanksgiving here in Canada and Fall is my favourite time of year, I created a Thanksgiving card. The wavy element in the sketch reminded me of leaves blowing in the wind. I simply created a template from scratch paper to mask my area and stamped away. I then stamped the three leaves in Baked Brown Sugar, Summer Starfruit and Cherry Cobbler tone-on-tone on top of cardstock. I ruffly cut out each leaf, distressed the edges with my scissors and scrunched them up to give them more dimension. To add to the harvest feel, I took out some strings from the new burlap ribbon from the Holiday Catalogue (LOVE it!) and tied together with a piece of twine.

Hope you'll play along with us - you have until October 18th! Don't forget to check out the rest of the DT Designs too because they will inspire you!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE
Paper: Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Baked Brown Sugar, Summer Starfruit
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Baked Brown Sugar, Summer Starfruit
Stamps: French Foliage (retired)
Tools: Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch
Accessories: Twine, 1/4" Burlap Ribbon
Techniques: Distressing

Pinwheels are Fun!

I've always wanted to make a card with pinwheels, but never seemed to get around to it... until Vickie Y inspired me with her cards here. Check out my creation:

There was something about the bright colours against the stark black that caught my eye. I am so happy with the results - I made this same card in Daffodil Delight (pictured here), Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise and Rich Razzleberry. I think this card can also work for either gender. It was also a great way to use colours I don't normally gravitate to and use up some retiring DSP. :)

If you'd like to purchase this card, you can do so here (and the other colours too).

Until next time, stay crafty!

Steph

RECIPE
Paper: Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Brights DSP Paper Stack (retired patterns)
Tools: Big Shot, Cuttlebug EF,
Accessories: Neutrals Brads
Techniques: Dry Embossing

Santa Suit

Here's a fun and cute card for ya:

The pieces were actually leftover from a gum packet covering that I created last year (yes, I kept the pieces for an entire year!). I never got around to putting them all together. Those gum packs were a bust - too time consuming and not very popular compared to my other offerings. But I think these cards will be a hit!

What do you think?

You can purchase them here in my online store.

Until next time, stay crafty!

Steph

RECIPE
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Real Red
Ink: Real Red
Stamps: Delightful Decorations (retired)
Tools: Big Shot, Petals-a-Plenty TIEF, Curly Label Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch
Accessories: Glimmer Brads
Techniques: Dry Embossing

Home Decor with MDS

I love My Digital Studio (MDS)! I'm not much of a scrapbooker (although, I've wanted to be several times), but I use the program for all my business advertising, making hybrid cards (using brush stamp sets that I don't own, for example) and more recently, to create home decor pieces.

I wanted and needed a nice alphabet decor piece for my son's room. I wanted one that had both the capital and small of each letter, plus an image to represent each letter with something that we would know and be able to pronounce. No xenops' in this print! ;)

You can also purchase the print in my online store here.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph