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

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

Button Buddies Harvest

Even though Thanksgiving is long gone for us Canadians, the US will be celebrating in just a couple weeks. As I mentioned in my last post, I had to create some Thanksgiving cards for a client for her US friends and here is another one I made:

Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Harvest DSP, Very Vanilla
Ink: Early Espresso
Stamps: Button Buddies, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Tools: Postage Stamp Punch, Modern Label Punch
Accessories: Buttons, Linen Thread

This one didn't require much thought because Button Buddies does the work for you. Our buttons coordinate so nicely with this stamp set! I love the Harvest DSP too and the colours are just so festive for this time of year.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Swapping

As promised, here are the swaps I created for the Hamilton Regionals on the weekend:

Paper: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Basic Gray, Bashful Blue
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette, Basic Gray
Stamps: Love & Laughter
Tools: Big Shot, Polka Dots TIEF, Heat Tool, Clear Blocks, 1" Square Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch
Accessories: Basic Gray Stitched Ribbon, Jewels, Pewter EP
Techniques: Clear Block Stamping, Heat Embossing

Paper: Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, Comfort Cafe DSP
Ink: Pool Party, Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse, Soft Suede
Stamps: French Foliage, Occasions Alphabet
Tools: Big Shot, Large Scallop Edgelit, Clear Blocks, Scalllop Circle Punch, Decorative Label Punch
Accessories: Very Vanilla Ribbon, Pearls
Techniques: Clear Block Stamping

For each of my Swaps, I used the Clear Block Stamping Technique. This is where you take your Clear Blocks (I used SU! Blocks C & D), ink 'em up as you would a stamp and then stamp them on your paper. It adds so much interest to a project and you get a "wow" factor without having to use extra tools or anything. The best part is that you get a different look every time you stamp again with them so no two projects will be exactly the same. The only trick is to make sure you don't move the block once it touches the paper or else you smear - same as stamps, but the blocks are more slippery. Hope I've inspired you to give it a try too!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Falling Leaves

There were several things that got me thinking about making a fall card for today's post. For one, the  Holiday Catty has many new items in it. Then there was a fall card we made at a recent techniques class. Add on top of that the gloomy, colder weather we've had the last couple of days (that I don't mind so much), and I guess this all inspired me to make a fall card.

Paper: Comfort Cafe DSP, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Cajun Craze
Ink: Soft Suede
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Tools: Big Shot, Autumn Accents Bigz Die, Woodgrain TIEF

This was a pretty simple card to put together. I started with some scraps I had left over from another project - the Comfort Cafe DSP rectangles. I created a "window" with them. Next, I cut the oak leaf from Cajun Craze with the new Autumn Accents Bigz Die and ran it through with the Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.

To finish off, I used some strips of scraps and curled them around a pencil and glued them to the leaf. I added my sentiment and the card was done! Now I've got a beautiful Thanksgiving card to give to someone... two months from now! :)

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph