Super Saw!

Sorry – sometimes I just can’t think of a title!

This is going to be the last post for about a week as I have officially packed up my craft room (except for the goodies I need for the 4 classes I’m teaching this week!). I just had to squeak one more project in!

The colour combination for this project was inspired by the Pals Paper Arts challenge this week and the sketch from Stamping 411.

The set Totally Tool was one of those that I really wanted and got it and then have a hard time using. However, when I saw this colour combo, I was drawn to this particular set.

The base of the card is Taken with Teal and all the layers are matted with Basic Gray. The layer in the furthest background is Whisper White and on it I stamped the various tools from the stamp set in coordinating colours. Oh, this is a good tip! If you want matching designer paper to suit a project, use coordinating images and colours and make your own.

The next closest layer is a piece of Nouveau Chic designer paper. I added two star brads from the Styled Silver HodgePodge Hardware on the outer corners and then adhered over the back layer with a couple of dimensionals.

Then, for the piece in the foreground. I knew I wanted to try using tin foil to make the saw blade so that part was easy. I embossed the saw on the tin foil and cut it out. I then embossed the saw again on some Ruby Red and cut it out and paper pierced it onto the foil.

For a “sawed” up look, I cut a piece of Taken with Teal cardstock in a jagged pattern and sponged it with some Basic Gray ink. I then added it onto some Whisper White cardstock with dimensionals and placed the saw.

Lastly, I had a hard time deciding what to do for a saying, then I just decided to stamp the saying with the saw stamp a few times on various scrap pieces and cut it out. All the pieces are affixed with dimensionals.

I sat and looked at this card for a while thinking it needed something else. I took my Black Stampin’ Write marker and ran it along the outer edges and on the Whisper White layer. Not sure if I like it (too late now) but I’ll go with it.

So, I hope to still possibly post but I’ll highlight some great blogs of friends and gals from my downline!

Festive Lamp Post

You may notice over the next couple of weeks that my posts are sporadic – we are in the process of moving. We are moving just a few minutes away from where we are now so we won’t have to move the kids school or any activities (whew!). In the new house, I get a great office space and with a huge rec room downstairs, there is even more room for seating at classes!

So, with knowing that I’ve got fewer posts coming, I figured I’d better make them “quality” ones!

Many of you enjoyed the last two punch cards I did (Scrooge and Nutcracker) so I thought I’d continue on that theme and come up with something else. This one was inspired by a card I received last year.

I used this week’s Mojo Monday sketch as my starting point (although the final product looks very different!) and the Colour Challenge on SCS.

The base of the card is Kraft. I stamped the snowflakes from Christmas Punch in Sahara Sand all over the base. I then used some Basic Black cardstock and layered it with Naturals Ivory.

On the large piece, I stamped the tall pine from Lovely as a Tree randomly in Going Gray ink. I wanted it to look like a soft background. Then I moved onto the lamp post.

I started with the light part. I  used my two tag punches (large and small). I punched the large in Basic Gray and the small in Whisper White. I then cut out on an angle from the top of the tag to the outer edge giving it a widening effect (wow, there is no way to better describe that – I’ll take a photo). On the white one, I sponged So Saffron ink to emulate light. For the top, I used my scallop square punch, cut it out, sponged it with Basic Gray ink and added some Vintage Brads.

I used my little leaves die with my Sizzix Big Shot and some Always Artichoke cardstock for some leaves and then my small oval punch with the 1/2″ circle punch to make the holly leaves (in Old Olive). The small holly berries are from the larger punch on my Crop-A-Dile and the bird is from the Merry Details sizzlet.

White taffeta ribbon just seemed like a perfect addition and I added a piece tied into a bow and then fanned out the ends using mini glue dots to tack it down in various places.

Using my Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set, I stamped Merry Christmas in Basic Gray ink on Basic Gray paper and then punched it out with my Modern Label Punch. My goal was to have this look like a sign coming off the side of the post.

I figured I’d gone so far past the sketch that I’d reign myself back in and I paper pierced along the side as per the sketch.

Thanks for stopping in and I hope you’ll continue to stay with me even though I may be away a bit……

Products used to make this project – CLICK HERE to buy them NOW!

Card stock: Kraft, Naturals Ivory, Basic Black, Whisper White, Basic Gray, Real Red, Old Olive, Always Artichoke.

Ink: So Saffron, Going Gray, Sahara Sand, Basic Gray.

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Christmas Punch, Teeny Tiny Wishes.

Accessories: White taffeta ribbon, large tag punch, small tag punch, scallop square punch, small oval punch, Modern Label punch, Crop-A-Dile, Sizzix Big Shot, little leaves sizzlet, Merry Details sizzlet, Vintage brads, stampin sponges, paper piercer, mat pack, mini glue dots.

Super Specials from Stampin’ Up!

We all love giving special and meaningful gifts for the holidays and Stampin’ Up! has made it so much easier to shop for the crafter we all know and love!

Stampin’ Up! has just released it’s Gift Giving Guide. You can click here or on the widget to the right to view the PDF. It is AMAZING! There are gifts for neighbours, friends or bundles perfect for making your very own personalized gifts.

From Nov 1 – Jan 4 receive a FREE Décor Elements piece (up to a $22.95 value) when you spend $65 on products in this guide!

Don’t forget that the Sweet Rewards hostess promotion is still going strong also. Host a workshop with $330 in sales and you can purchase one item from the Holiday Mini catalogue for only $14! Get those sales up to $525 and you can purchase My Digital Studio for 50% OFF!

Also, if now is the time to get started making a bit of money doing what you love, then consider the Digital + Starter Kit. For only $239, you’ll receive the following amazing products. All you need to do to sign up is head on over to my website and use the password “rubbersidedown”. Or drop me a line and we can go over it all together over a cup of tea!

• My Digital Studio software suite
• Two stamp sets (Party Hearty, Petal Pizzazz)
• Whisper White card stock (8-1/2″ x 11″)
• Earth Elements assorted card stock (8-1/2″ x 11″)
• Four Classic Stampin’ Pads (Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise)
• Four Stampin’ Write markers (Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red)
• Chocolate Chip 1/4″ grosgrain ribbon
• Real Red 1″ double-stitched grosgrain ribbon
• Button Latte Designer buttons
• Stampin’ Dimensionals
• Mini Glue Dots
• SNAIL Adhesive
• Business supplies (product catalogs, order forms, training DVD and other supplies)

Whatever your stamping needs are, I’m here to help! You can place online orders through my website 24/7 or I’m just an email away!

Keep watching as there are more great online ordering specials to come….Nov 23 – 30!

Trick or Treat

Tomorrow is Halloween so I thought I’d put up a fun card that I made for my sister’s friend’s party invite.

I started with a Basic Black base cut to 11 x 4 1/4. I folded it in half and then folded the top down about 1″ to make the pocket. I then added some sticky strip to the inside edges to keep it all together.

For the front, I cut a piece of Rich Razzleberry cardstock and on it stamped the large splatter from Extreme Elements (I love this set!). I roughed up the edges and added a strip of Old Olive cardstock in behind it. I punched this with the spiral punch and again roughed it up. I used the hostess set Holiday Best for the sentiment. I decided with the dark colours to stamp it in Basic Black craft ink for a more rich look.

I used the stamp set Twick or Tweet and stamped the little bird in black. I coloured him in using my Crushed Curry and Dusty Durango markers. I punched him out with the 1 1/4″ circle punch, layered him on a 1 3/8″ Basic Black circle and then on an Old Olive scallop circle. Once I decided to add a bit of black gingham, I was ready to add the little guy on with dimensionals.

Lastly, I rounded the corners of the card base and the insert piece, which is Crushed Curry.

Thanks for stopping in and Happy Halloween!

Products used to make this project – CLICK HERE to buy them NOW!

Card stock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry, Old Olive.

Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black, Basic Black Craft.

Stamps: Extreme Elements, Twick or Tweet, Holiday Best.

Accessories: spiral edge punch, black gingham ribbon, 1 1/4″ circle punch, 1 3/8″ circle punch, scallop circle punch, corner rounder punch, In Colour Markers.

BAH Humbug

This is another one of those little projects I’ve been dying to get to….another punch project, yes but a super fun one – SCROOGE!

I have to admit, most of the punch projects I do have been inspired by others (I just don’t have the patience to do them on my own) but this one is ALL ME (as was yesterday’s).

My starting point for this card was certainly the Scrooge idea but also the Stamping 411 sketch for this week.

The base of this card is Always Artichoke and is layered with Basic Black. The strip across the centre is Always Artichoke and is layered with some Nouveau Chic Designer Paper.

Now for Scrooge – he was placed on a piece of Bashful Blue designer paper which was layered on Always Artichoke. I used Basic Black, Always Artichoke, Basic Gray, Going Gray, Garden Green, Real Red, and Blush Blossom card stock to complete this project.

Face: large oval, 1/4″ circle punch

Hat: small oval

Scarf: small oval, large oval

Body: large tag punch, word window (arms), silver brads

Hair: what else? LEAVES #2 DIE!

I cut the holly leaves by hand and used the smaller punch on my Crop-A-Dile for the holly berries. I drew the face on by hand.

To finish the project off and in keeping with the sketch, I cut out letters with my Naturally Serif Sizzlet strip and cut out the words “BAH HUMBUG” and adhered them along the bottom of the card. Using the Christmas Punch stamp set, I stamped the wide oval saying in Always Artichoke and cut it out around the outline. I then backed it with a wide oval punched out of Real Red cardstock.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stand Tall

I always have ideas sitting on my desk waiting for me to dive into. Today was such a yucky rainy day and after having to drive back and form twice to attend two services at church (my daughter had to sing twice) I was ready for a little “parental break”.

With the holidays fast approaching, I am always looking for new ideas. I recently was getting ready for a punch class and wanted to make a nutcracker. The only problem, it is pretty big. Then, I noticed that Caardvarks was having a tall card challenge – PERFECT!

The card base is Naturals White and it is layered with Real Red and Always Artichoke. I used Real Red, Basic Black, Crushed Curry and Blush Blossom for the nutcracker.

Now, for the nutcracker himself:

Arms: word window punches (arms and hands), My Way punch (cuffs and shoulders)

Shoes: 1″ circle punch

Suit: word window punch (belt), Crop-A-Dile (buttons)

Face: 1 3/8″ circle, Crop-A-Dile (nose), swirls Sizzlet die

Hat: 1 3/8″ circle, corner rounder

I used my Versamarker to make rosy cheeks on the nutcracker’s face and my white gel pen to separate the pant legs on the Basic Black cardstock I used for the bottom of his suit.

I hope you like it!

Pretty Pointsettias

Gettin’ into the Christmas spirit and trying to use sets that are not just for the holidays but for all year round. A Flower for All Seasons is one of those versatile sets that can be used for more than one occasion and it’s so stinkin’ cute!

The base of this card is Ruby Red and is layered with a piece of designer paper from the Merry Moments designer paper package. This piece is actually the same sheet just cut in half and reversed. I tied some Vanilla grosgrain around the seam where the papers meet.

For the focal piece, I stamped the image on some Naturals White cardstock using my Jet Black StazOn. I then watercoloured it using Ruby Red, Old Olive, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip and Really Rust inks an my aquapainter.

I layered this piece on some Chocolate Chip cardstock and I added an Old Olive piece underneath which I took my spiral punch to for some added detail. Then sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

Have a great day!

Products Used on these Projects – CLICK HERE to buy them NOW!

Card Stock: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Naturals White, Ruby Red.

Ink: Jet Black StazOn, Ruby Red, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Old Olive.

Stamps: A Flower for All Seasons, Teeny Tiny Wishes.

Accessories: Spiral punch, corner rounder punch, aquapainter, Merry Moments designer series paper, vanilla grosgrain ribbon.

Halloween Treats

These are the cute boxes I was making when I came up with my super cute Wise Men from the last post.

I used the box pattern from a Stampin’ Up! Convention make and take project for the base (these are in Chocolate Chip). Here it is:

Box Pattern

Now, to make them look like gravestones, I cut out a pillow box using my Sizzix Big Shot in Basic Gray. I cut off one side so I had a single rounded top. I then sponged them in Basic Gray ink. I added a “happy halloween” salutation from All Holidays in Basic Gray also.

For the little additions, I added a ghost (from the Leaves #2 die), a bat (using the rounded tab punch) and a pumpkin. To make that I stamped the little pumpkin face in Basic Black from Holiday Blitz. I then punched it out with a 3/4″ circle punch and added a stem and a little leaf.

Lastly, I filled them with some jelly beans and nuggets.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Products Used on these Projects – CLICK HERE to buy them NOW!

Card Stock: Basic Gray, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Naturals White, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black.

Ink: Basic Gray, Basic Black.

Stamps: Holiday Blitz, All Holidays.

Accessories: Sizzix Big Shot, Leaves #2 die, Rounded Tab punch, 3/4″ circle punch, pillow box die.

Three Wise Men

Today I was making a bunch of Halloween treats for the office staff at my kid’s school (photo coming soon) and while I was doing that a couple of pieces of cardstock fell in an interesting position and I saw Wise Men! Funny, I know but I did!

You’ll never guess what I was using – the Leaves #2 die! I was making ghosts using the die as I’d done on a previous project and a couple of the ends of another leaf overlapped each other and looked like a perfect silhouette of the Wise Men. So, off I ran to drag my husband in to look at how fantastic a new idea this is and then back up to my craft room!

This card’s layout was inspired by the Mojo Monday Sketch this week – I loved it! I wanted to use jewel tones on this card as well…so here goes!

The base is Creamy Caramel (to emulate sand) and the central focal piece is layered with Elegant Eggplant and Night of Navy. I cut some Creamy Caramel cardstock free hand and sponged the edges to make sand dunes and adhered them to a piece of Whisper White cardstock.

For the Wise Men themselves, I used the Sizzix Big Shot and the Leaves #2 die (the end of the long and skinny leaf). I used Taken with Teal, Elegant Eggplant and Old Olive. I also made arms using my oval punches in coordinating colours.

I had a really hard time trying to figure out how to add a star to this card. Everything I did just didn’t seem right and, on this particular project, I wanted the Wise Men to be the focal piece. So, I used the Punches Plus dry emboss template and paper pierced the star in behind the Wise Men layer, and then added a small star punched out of Crushed Curry card stock.

Lastly, I layered some Old Olive designer paper (retired) on a piece of Night of Navy cardstock. I then added a large bow using 5/8″ Old Olive grosgrain.

I wanted to add a sentiment on the front but, again, just couldn’t get one to work for me – so I added the sentiment “joy expressed, love shared, a miracle celebrated” from Many Merry Messages to the inside.

Hope you like it! Remember, play with your Sizzix Dies – you never know what you’ll come up with!

Products used on this project – CLICK HERE to buy them NOW!

Card stock: Crushed Curry, Creamy Caramel, Elegant Eggplant, Night of Navy, Old Olive, Whisper White.

Ink: Creamy Caramel.

Stamps: Many Merry Messages.

Accessories: Sizzix Big Shot, Leaves #2 die, 5/8″ Old Olive grosgrain, small star punch, Punches Plus dry emboss template, paper piercing tool.

Deal of the Week #3 – Clip-tastic!

I am SO excited about this week’s Deal of the Week from Stampin’ Up! and here it is:

• Basic Jumbo Grommets – $6.49 (regular $9.50) Item # 114348
• Mini Library Clips – $12.99 (regular $18.95) Item # 109857
• Circle Designer Brads – $5.49 (regular $8.50) Item # 112571
• 1/2″ Library Clips – $5.49 (regular $9.75) Item # 1112581

There are some amazing discounts on these products and just in time for all your holiday card making needs! Head on over to my website to learn even more about this great special and stay tuned for one more Deal next week!