Fall Leaves

Today I have for you the card I created for the SCCSC38 sketch challenge. I'm just now getting around to completing some of the challenges I missed while I was on vacation. So here is the sketch provided by Susie:

And here is my card:

Stamps: Day of Gratitude

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Peach Parfait, Early Espresso

DSP: Autumn Spice

Ink: Peach Parfait, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler

Accesories: Scallop Edge Border Punch, Gold Brads, Needle Tool, Mat Pack

The card base is Early Espresso cardstock cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" and scored at 4 1/4". The next layer is a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock that was cut at 5" x 4". The bottom edge was punched with the Scallop Edge Border punch. The leaves from Day of Gratitdue were stamped in Early Espresso, Peach Parfait, and Cherry Cobbler inks. The sentiment was stamped in Early Espresso ink. This panel was then adhered to the card front.

A piece of Peach Parfait cardstock was cut at 1 7/8" x 5". Both long sides were punched with the Scallop Edge Border punch. A piece of Autumn Spice DSP cut at 1" x 5" was adhered to the center of the punch Peach Parfait strip. The Needle Tool and Mat Pack were used to punch three holes on the left side of the cardstock strip and three Gold Brads were added. The cardstock strip was then adhered to the card front. That completes this quick and easy fall card. Thanks for the great sketch Susie! For those of you with access to Stampin' Connection you can find the challenge here. For those of you without access I would love to see your creations. Please add the link to your card in the comments section of this post.

Come back tommorrow to see the sketch that I created and the card that this sketch inspired!

Delightful Flowers

Now I have the card I made with the Two-Step Stamping panel I showed you how to make in the tutorial this morning. I kept this one pretty simple since there is so much going on in the floral panel. Take a look:

Stamps: Awash With Flowers

Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Peach Parfait, Whisper White

DSP: Autumn Spice

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Cherry Cobbler, Poppy Parade, Old Olive, Basic Black

Accessories: Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Whisper White Organza ribbon

The card base is 5 1/2" x 8" and scored at 4". This is a slightly narrower card than A2 because I wanted my Autumn Spice to go all the way from top to bottom, but I was using a scrap that was just a little narrower than the height of the card, so I cut the card to fit the DSP scrap. A piece of Whisper White cardstock was cut at 2 3/4" x 4 1/8". The flower outlines were stamped in Basic Black. The various flower centers and leaves were stamped in Daffodil Delight, Poppy Parade, Cherry Cobbler, and Old Olive. This panel was adhered to a piece of Peach Parfait cardstock that was cut at 2 7/8" x 4 1/4". This was then adhered to the top of a piece of Autumn Spice DSP that is 4" x 4 1/2".

A piece of Whisper White Organza ribbon was tied around the bottom of the Autumn Spice DSP panel. The panel was adhered to the card front. As a finishing touch I added some Crystal Effects to some of the flower edges and added Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the Crystal Effects. The Crystal Effects holds the Dazzling Diamonds glitter better than the Two-Way Glue pen, and I don't like to pick up a card and be covered in glitter. So when I use glitter I use either Crystal Effects or Tombow Multi-Purpose adhesive to adhere glitter. Here you can see a close up of the glitter on the flowers.

That's it! What do you think?

Two-Step Stamping - Tutorial

It's another Friday! That means it's time for the weekly tutorial! Today's is on Two-Step Stamping!

For this tutorial you will need a Two-Step Stamping set, cardstock, and the inks of your choice. For this one I am using Awash With Flowers, Basic Black, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Poppy Parade, and Daffodil Delight ink and Whisper White cardstock.

With a Two-Step Stamping set you can either stamp the bottom image or the top image first. Awash with Flowers is one that I like to stamp the top image or the outline image first in Basic Black so I can layout how I want the flower arrangement, this is just personal preference though.

When using a set like Greenhouse Garden you would want to stamp the solid images in a lighter color and the finer lined images in a darker color.

Now that I have all of my outlines done I can start stamping in my colors.

Now I begin stamping in my solid image stamps to add the various colors to my flower arrangement.

Here I have added all of my colors with the solid image stamps. You can see that by doing the two different steps I can a more whimsical looking panel by not having everything lined up perfectly. Or you could use the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to get every image perfectly placed on top of the other.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. Let me know if there is another topic that you would like to see a tutorial on. Come back later today to see what I do with this colorful floral panel! Have fun stamping!



Bermuda Leaves

Todays color challenge features SCCOLOR 15. This is an old color challenge posted back in May. Even though it uses two retired colors I still had fun playing along. The color challenge was to use Bermuda Bay, Dusty Durango, and Very Vanilla. Here is what I created:

Stamps: Apple Blossoms

Cardstock: Bermuda Bay, Dusty Durango, Very Vanilla

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Dusty Durango

Accessories: 5/8" Very Vanilla Satin ribbon, Crystal Effects, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Die, Stampin' Dimensionals

The card base is 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" Bermuda Bay cardstock that was scored at 4 1/4". The card front was ran through the Big Shot inside the Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Die to add that wonderful polka dotted texture. A piece of Very Vanilla cardstock was cut at 3 1/8" x 4 3/8". I covered the bottom 3/4" of the panel with a post it note as a mask then stamped the image from Apple Blossoms in Bermuda Bay ink at varying heights. The post it note mask was removed and I stamped the greeting in Dusty Durango ink.

The stamped Very Vanilla panel was adhered to a piece of Dusty Durango cardstock that was cut at 3 1/4" x 4 1/2". Some Crystal Effects were added to the middle and outside branches of leaves. You can see a close up shot of the finished card below:

After the Crystal Effects dried some 5/8" Very Vanilla ribbon was tied around the panel and into a knot. After the ribbon ends were trimmed the panel was adhered to the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Although I really had to dig through my stash to find the retired color this was such a fun color combina tion to play with. I imagine you could do something similar with Tempting Turquoise and Cajun Craze with Very Vanilla.

I hope you've enjoyed this look back at some of the older color challenges that have been featured on Stampin' Connection. Make sure to come back tomorrow to see a tutorial! Have fun stamping!

Another Magical Vacation!

Hello all! I'm back from vacation! I hope you've enjoyed the pre-scheduled posts I had up while I was gone. Instead of a scrapbook page today, since I haven't had a chance to do one, I will share a few of my vacation photos. I will be posting the sketch challenge that would have been posted on Monday later this week or this weekend.

My Husband, I, my parents, and some of my Dad's extended family enjoyed a seven day Disney cruise on the Disney Magic through the western carribbean. It was absolutely fabulous! Anyway here are some photos!

Key West, Florida

Grand Cayman

Cozumel, Mexico

In Cozumel we went on a snorkeling excursion. This is the ship from the view of the catamaran.

Castaway Cay, Disney's Private Island in the Bahamas

And of course Mickey and Minnie!

If you think Disney cruises are just for kids or young families you are wrong. There are lots of areas and activities that are just for adults such as comedy shows, wine tasting, tequila and margarita tasting, a piano bar, a sports bar, they even show football games on the huge television above the family pool on one of the top decks. Not to mention being spoiled rotten the entire week with all the wonderful service! I just thought I would throw that little note in since I've gotten that question a lot when I mention Disney Cruise Line.

Come back tomorrow to see what I have for you!

Autumn Sunset

Happy Tuesday everyone!!!! Today I have another Fall inspired card. I really do love fall. I live in Kansas and we get all four seasons here. The trees are so pretty when they start to change orange and red. It's nice to feel the cool air and admire nature's beauty. Anyway...here is the card I made inspired by the colors I see outside.

Stamps: Lovely As A Tree, Day of Gratitude

Cardstock: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Peach Parfait

DSP: Autumn Spice DSP

Ink: Black Stazon, Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso

Accessories: Stampin' Sponges, 5/8" Daffodil Delight Grosgrain ribbon, Decorative Label punch, Corner Rounder punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Tombow Multi-Purpose Adhesive, Silver Glass Glitter, Silver Glimmer Brad, Needle Tool, Mat Pack, Sticky Strip, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, post it notes.

The card base is Early Espresso cardstock cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" and scored at 4 1/4". A piece of Autumn Spice DSP was cut at 4" x 5 1/4" and adhered to the card front. A piece of Very Vanilla was cut at 2 1/2" x 3 3/4". The corner rounder punch was used on just two of the corners. The trees from Lovely As A Tree were stamped in Black Stazon in the center of the cardstock. The grass was created using the direct to paper technique first with Old Olive and then again with Always Artichoke ink. The sky area was sponged with Daffodil Delight ink.

The 1 3/4" circle punch was used to punch through the sticky part of a post it note. The post it note circle was placed above the grass as a mask in the center of the cardstock. Two more post it notes were placed next to the sun to protect the grass from getting sky on it. Pumpkin Pie and Cherry Cobbler ink to create the sunset. The post it note circle is removed and voila! You have a beautiful sunset!

A piece of Very Vanilla cardstock was cut at 2 3/4" x 4". The same two corners were punched with the Corner Rounder punch. The edges were sponged with Early Espresso ink. The sunset panel was adhered to the sponged Very Vanilla panel. The Decorative Label punch was used to punch a label from a scrap of Peach Parfait cardstock. The "Thank You" from Day of Gratitidue was stamped in Early Espresso ink in the top half of the decorative label. The label was adhered behind the Very Vanilla panel so you could see only the top half of the label. Some Tombow Multi-Purpose Adhesive was added around the exposed edge of the decorative label and Silver Glass Glitter was added. After the glue holding the Glass Glitter dried the panel was adhered to the bottom right corner of the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals.

On the left side of the card a place a piece of Sticky Strip going from the bottom of the DSP to about 1/4" away from the top edge of the DSP. I removed the liner and adhered some 5/8" Daffodil Delight Grosgrain ribbon in an accordion fashion and trimmed the end with paper snips. To get the folds to lay flat I used some Snail Adhesive to adhere the ribbon folds to the ribbon below it. The end of the ribbon was trimmed with paper snips. Then the Needle Tool and Mat Pack were used to pierce a hole in the end of the ribbon where I added a silver Glimmer Brad to finish it off. Here is a close up of the ribbon detail:

I hope you enjoy creating some fall inspired cards no matter what you see outside your window! Come back tomorrow to see a scrapbook page!

Happy Days

This card was created with the  medallion that I showed you how to make in the tutorial earlier today. This is a really fun color combination to play with. Take a look:

Stamps: Day of Gratitude, Apple Blossoms

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Night of Navy, Basic Grey, Cherry Cobbler

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Peach Parfait, Night of Navy, Whisper White Craft

Accessories: Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Die, Decorative Label Punch, 5/8" Very Vanilla Satin ribbon, Glimmer Brads, Paper Snips, Stampin' Dimensionals, Needle Tool, Mat Pack

The card base is Basic Grey cardstock cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" and scored at 4 1/4". A piece of Night of Navy cardstock was cut at 3 3/4" x 5". The Night of Navy cardstock was run through the Big Shot in the Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Die. Then I used the direct to paper technique, rubbing the ink pad directly across the paper, to add Whisper White Craft ink to the embossed panel. This creates a really nice effect. The Night of Navy cardstock was set aside to dry.

The medallion from Day of Gratitude was stamped in Peach Parfait and Cherry Cobbler ink using the Rock-n-Roll technique on a scrap of Very Vanilla cardstock. This was then cut out with paper snips. I used the Needle Tool and Mat Pack to pierce a hole in the center of the medallion and added a Basic Grey Glimmer Brad.

The greeting from Apple Blossoms was stamped in Night of Navy ink on a scrap of Very Vanilla cardstock. This was then punched out with the Decorative Label punch. I also punched two decorative labels from Cherry Cobbler cardstock. The two Cherry Cobbler decorative labels were cut in half, one length-wise, one width-wise. The points were cut off that were in the center of the label side. On the pieces that were cut width-wise also cut of the first scallop off each side of the label half, repeat with the other half. All four of these pieces were adhered behind the Very Vanilla decorative label to create a mat. (That came out pretty confusing, let me know if you were able to follow along or if I need to do a tutorial on creating a Decorative Label mat).

After the craft ink on the textured panel dried some 5/8" Very Vanilla ribbon was added around the middle and tied into a bow. The textured cardstock was then adhered to the card front. Stampin' Dimensionals were added to the back of the medallion and this was adhered to the card front in the upper left hand corner. The greeting on the decorative label was adhered to the card front underneath the bow.

This is probably my favorite card of what I have made recently. I really like the interesting color combination and the shabby-chic background. What do you think?

Rock-n-Roll Technique - Tutorial

Happy Friday everyone! Today's tutorial is on the Rock-n-Roll technique. It's really fun and really easy to do and always creates a beautiful image.

For this tutorial you will need a stamp set, cardstock, and two different colors of ink. You will need one light colored ink and one darker colored ink. Here I am using Very Vanilla cardstock, the medallion stamp from Day of Gratitude, and Peach Parfait and Cherry Cobbler ink.

Ink up your image completely with the ligher ink color like you normally ink up a stamp.

Add the darker colored ink onto the stamp by placing the stamp at an angle when touching the ink pad. Roll the stamp around at an angle to get the darker color around all the outside edges.

Here is another view of the stamp on the ink pad at an angle.

Here you can see that the darker ink is on the outside of the image. As you can see you will most likely get ink on your block. On the clear block it is easy to clean off with Stampin' Mist or with rubbing alcohol on a cotton cloth. On wood blocks the block will get stained but it won't affect how well your stamp stamps. It will just be very well loved.

Stamp down onto the cardstock.

Pick up the stamp and this is what you have! Isn't it just gorgeous! Yet it was soooo easy to do! You do want to clean your stamp before trying to repeat this if you are doing multiple cards. You don't want to contaminate your lighter colored ink pad with the darker color.

Come back later today to see what I do with this lovely medallion. Please let me know if there is anything you would like to see a tutorial on. Have fun stamping! 

Fall Colors

Good morning everyone! Today I have a color challenge for you. This is challenge number SCCOLOR34. I am posting a few old color challenges this week because I am currently on vacation sailing through the Carribbean on the Disney Magic cruise ship. So I have pre-posted lots of things for you to see. Since I won't be home to keep up with the current color challenge I'm featuring some older ones. This color challenge requires you to use Old Olive, So Saffron, Peach Parfait, Poppy Parade, and Whisper White.

What great fall colors! So I have created this fall card:

Stamps: Day of Gratitude, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Cardstock: Peach Parfait, So Saffron, Whisper White

DSP: Presto Patterns DSP

Ink: So Saffron, Peach Parfait, Poppy Parade, Old Olive

Accessories: Scalloped Oval punch, Gold Brads, Stampin' Dimensionals, Two-Way Glue Pen, Paper Snips, Stampin' Sponge, Needle Tool, Mat Pack

The card base is Peach Parfait cardstock cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" and scored at 4 1/4". A piece of Presto Patterns Designer Series Paper was cut at 3 1/2" x 4 3/4". To color in the paper I first used the So Saffron ink pad and swiped the ink pad directly over the paper streaking on the ink until I was pleased with the coverage. I really like the lines and mottled look that this created in the background. Then in random places I sponged Peach Parfait ink from the side towards the center. Poppy Parade was sponged in the same locations as the Peach Parfait ink not covering the Peach Parfait ink entirely. Then all of the edges were lightly sponged with Poppy Parade.

The sponged DSP panel was adhered to a piece of Whisper White cardstock cut at 3 5/8" x 4 7/8". This was then adhered to a piece of So Saffron cardstock cut at 3 7/8" x 5 1/8". Then this was adhered to the card front.

On a scrap of Whisper White I stamped the leaves from Day of Gratitude. One each in So Saffron, Peach Parfait, Poppy Parade, and Old Olive. These were carefully cut out with paper snips and adhered to the front of the card with a Two-Way Glue Pen. On a scrap of So Saffron cardstock I stamped the greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes in Poppy Parade ink. This was then punched out with the Scalloped Oval punch and the edges were sponged with So Saffron ink. The Needle Tool and Mat Pack were used to pierce holes on both ends of the scalloped oval and two Gold Brads were added. The greeting was adhered to the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals.

I just love the Presto Patterns DSP because you can color it however you like to fit the project you are making. It is so easy to get a wonderful looking background that really is a WOW when it's finished! I hope you've enjoyed seeing this fall card! Thanks Barbara Welch for the great Color Challenge! Come back tomorrow to see a tutorial!

Misty Apple Blossoms

Good morning! How is everyone on this wonderful Tuesday morning? Today I have a card for you that uses the Apple Blossom stamp set. I've had this set for a while now and I'm just starting to play with it. Well here is the card I made:

Stamps: Apple Blossom

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Whisper White

Ink: Marina Mist, Night of Navy, Whisper White Craft

Accessories: 5/8" Marina Mist Grosgrain Ribbon, Basic Pearl Jewel Accents, Stampin' Dimensionals, Hobby Blade, Paper Snips

The card base is Crumb Cake cardstock cut at 4 1/4" x 11" and scored at 5 1/2". I stamped the front of the card in a random pattern with the two flowers in the Apple Blossom set in Whisper White craft ink. I set this aside to dry for a while. I cut a piece of Whisper White cardstock 2 3/4" x 4". This was stamped with the stem of leaves from the stamp set in Marina Mist ink. I stamped them in a stair-stepped type pattern and also I would stampe the image twice each time I inked the stamp. This is called Stamping Off and that is how I got some branches darker than the others, but still with the same color. Cool huh?

I stamped the greeting in the bottom right hand corner of the panel in Night of Navy ink. This panel was adhered to a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock that was cut at 2 7/8" x 4 1/8". This was then adhered to a piece of Marina Mist cardstock that was cut at 3" x 4 1/4". Some Basic Pearl Jewel Accents were added to the top leaf of each branch. Some Stampin' Dimensionals were added to the back of the panel and it was adhered to the card front in the top right corner.

Using a Hobby Blade I cut a slit in the fold of the card wide enough for my ribbon to go through. The ribbon was threaded through and around the card front, tied into a knot, and the ends were trimmed with Paper Snips. Now it's done! This card was super quick to make and I love it! Let me know what you think. Come back tomorrow for a scrapbook page!

Bells and Boughs

It's Monday again! You know what that means, other than the work week starts over. It's Sketch Challenge day! As I mentioned before I am now on the Stampin' Connection Sketch Challenge Team. Well today is my first sketch challenge that I have created. So here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

Stamps: Bells and Boughs

Cardstock: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler

DSP: Deck The Halls

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso

Accessories: Ticket Corner Punch, Simple Snowflake Punch, Silver Glass Glitter, Silver Glimmer Brad, Stampin' Sponge, Tombow Multipurpose Adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals, Markers: Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler, Bravo Burgandy.

The card base is Early Espresso cardstock cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" and scored at 4 1/4". A piece of Deck The Halls DSP with the poinsettas was cut at 3 7/8" x 5 1/8". This was adhered to a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock cut at 4" x 5 1/4".

A snowflake was punched from scraps of Cherry Cobbler cardstock and Very Vanilla cardstock. Both were sprayed with some shimmer mist made from Champage Shimmer Mist mixed with rubbing alcohol in a mister bottle. This was sprayed onto the snowflakes and allowed to dry. I used the Needle Tool and Mat pack to punch a hole through both snowflakes and the DSP and Very Vanilla panel. A silver Glimmer Brad was added first through the Cherry Cobbler snowflake, then through the Very Vanilla snowflake, then through the DSP and Very Vanila layers. The prongs of the brad were spread apart to hold it in place and the panel was adhered to the card front. Here is a close-up of the snowflakes with their subtle sparkle:

A piece of Very Vanilla cardstock was cut at 2 1/4" x 3 1/2". The image from Bells and Boughs was stamped in Black Stazon. I like to use Stazon anytime I am coloring the image in because the black from the lines will not bleed into the colored area. You can use Basic Black ink to do this if you heat set it or if you let it dry for a very long time, like a couple of hours. Otherwise Basic Black ink will bleed into the colored areas.

I colored in the poinsettas with the Cherry Cobbler and Bravo Burgandy markers. The pine needles were colored in with Old Olive and Always Artichoke markers. Some Silver Glass Glitter was added to the poinsetta centers with some Tombow Multipurpose Adhesive. The edges of the panel were sponged with Early Espresso ink with a Stampin' Sponge. This panel was adhered to a piece of Always Artichoke cardstock cut at 2 3/8" x 3 5/8" and was then adhered to the card front. Here is a close-up of the colored panel with the Glass Glitter:

A piece of Very Vanilla cardstock was cut at 1" x 2 1/4". This was stamped with the greeting from Bells and Boughs in Cherry Cobbler ink. The corner were punched with the Ticket Corner Punch and the edges weres sponged with Early Espresso ink. This was adhered to the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals. 

Now this vintage Christmas card is complete! If you like the look of a vintage Christmas card  than you will absolutely love the new Deck The Halls Designer Series Paper in the Holiday Mini Catalog. You can find it here. Thanks for stopping by! Have fun stamping! 

Update: I forgot to send out the e-mail to my fellow sketch team members before leaving on vacation so they used another sketch for the challenge. You are still welcome to create with this sketch but please do not use the tag SCCSC37 because this will be incorrect. Here is the correct sketch for SCCSC37: Thanks.

Leaf Just for You

Now I have the card I made with the background panel that was shown in the tutorial earlier. Take a look:

Stamps: Autumn Splendor, Just Believe, En Francais

Cardstock: Poppy Parade, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Black Stazon

Accessories: 5/8" Daffodil Delight Grosgrain ribbon, Paper Snips, Crystal Effects, Markers: So Saffron, More Mustard, Peach Parfait, Pumpkin Pie, tangerine Tango, and Chocolate Chip

The card base is Poppy Parade cardstock cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" and scored at 4 1/4. A piece of Very Vanilla cardstock was cut at 4" x 5 1/4" and stamped with the background stamp En Francais in Pumpkin Pie ink. On a 2 1/2" x 3 3/4" piece of Very Vanilla cardstock the leaf from Autumn Splendor was stamped in Black Stazon. The leaf was colored in with So Saffron, More Mustard, Peach Parfait, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, and Chocolate Chip markers. The leaf and it's colors look so much better in real life, but these were the best photos I could get.

The greeting from Just Belive was stamped on the bottom of the Very Vanilla panel. This panel was adhered to a piece of Poppy Parade cardstock that was cut at 2 5/8" x 3 7/8". This was then adhered to a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock that was cut at 2 3/4" x 4". Crystal Effects was applied over the leaf. I really seem to like the gloss of Crystal Effects lately. After the Crystal Effects were dry a piece of 5/8" Daffodil Delight Grosgrain ribbon was added around the panel and tied into a knot. Here you can see a close up of the leaf with the gloss of the Crystal Effects:

On a scrap piece of Very Vanilla cardstock I stamped the acorns from Autumn Splendor in Black Stazon ink. The acorns were then colored in with Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, and Peach Parfait markers. I trimmed them out with paper snips and adhered them to the bottom corner of the card front on top of the En Francais panel. Finally the leaf panel was adhered to the card front. Now it's done! What do you think?

Background Stamping - Tutorial

Hello everyone on this wonderful Friday morning! As you can see the countdown counter on the right is almost to zero! By the time you will be able to read this post our flight will have already left the KCI airport on it's route to sunny Orlando Florida! We are heading off on another Disney Cruise Vacation! I haven't been on any other cruise line but I can tell you that Disney provides a truly relaxing and an absolutely fabulous experience! 

Don't worry! I have scheduled posts all throughout next week so even though I'll be cruising through the Carribbean you will still get your daily dose of crafty goodness! Anyway onto today's tutorial. Today I will be showing you how to get a good impression using a background stamp without standing on the stamp or pushing down on it so hard you turn purple. Take a look:  

For this tutorial you will need a background stamp, ink pad, cardstock, and printer paper. In this case I have the stamp En Fraincais, Very Vanilla cardstock, and Pumpkin Pie ink.

Lay your background stamp on the table rubber-side-up.

Ink up your stamp by patting the ink pad onto the background stamp to cover the stamp completely in ink.

Carefully place your cardstock on top of the stamp rubber. You don't want to slide it on. You want to carefully place it down and note move it.

Place a piece of printer paper over your cardstock. While holding down with one hand rub your other hand across the cardstock to transfer the image. You will want to rub evenly across the entire piece of cardstock. Be careful not to slide the cardstock around or you will smear your image.

Remove the printer paper.

To get the cardstock off of the stamp I like to carefully pick up the stamp and turn it over in the air. This allows the cardstock to fall off the stamp instead of accidentally sliding it when trying to pick up the cardstock. It also prevent you from getting ink all over your fingers. :)

Now you have a very clean and even background image that didn't require you to break your back and get frustrated!

Please let me know if there are any other things you would like me to do a tutorial on. I would be happy to help! Have fun stamping everyone!

Baja Butterflies

I am going on vacation soon so I have prepared some cards to show you from past Color Challenges featured on Stampin' Connection. This one is from SCCOLOR24. The colors are Rose Red, Real Red, Baja Breeze, and Certainly Celery. I also added some Whisper White.

Stamps: Butterfly Prints

Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red, Baja Breeze

Ink: Rose Red, Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery

Accessories: Decorative Label punch, Butterfly punch, Elegant Lines Texutred Impressions Die, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Stampin' Dimensionals, White Gel Pen, Basic Pearl Jewel Accents, Mini glue Dots, Paper Snips

The card base is 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" Whisper White cardstock scored at 4 1/4". A piece of Baja Breeze cardstock was cut at 4" x 5 1/4" and ran through the Big Shot in the Elegant Lines Textured Impressions Die. The texture is really beautiful and elegant, but I didn't want to leave the panel plain. So I used the White Gel Pen and colored in some of the areas that the Textured Impressions Die created. I think it makes this card seem more whimsical. The textured Baja Breeze cardstock was adhered to the card front.

On a scrap of Whisper White cardstock I stamped the greeting in Rose Red ink and punched out the sentiment with the Decorative Label punch. I punched another decorative label from a scrap of Real Red caredstock. The Real Red label was cut in half along the width with paper snips. The points that did meet in the middle were snipped off and the label half was adhered behind the Whisper White decorative label to give the label a mat. Some Crystal Effects were added where the Whisper White label meets the Real Red label pieces on each end and Dazzling Diamonds glitter was added to give the sentiment some sparkle. After this dried it was adhered to the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals.

On another scrap of Whisper White cardstock I stamped the butterflies in Rose Red, Baja Breeze, and Certainly Celery ink. These were all punched out with the Butterfly punch. Then I cut four pearls off of the joined row of pearls in the Basic Pearls Jewel Accents package and placed one set of four pearls in the center to create the body of each butterfly. The bone folder was used to curl the wings and the butterflies were adhered to the card front with Mini Glue Dots.

This was a difficult, but interesting, color combination to play with. Thanks Barbara Welch for the great challenge, even if I tweaked it a bit. I hope  you've enjoyed seeing this creation. Come back tomorrow to see what I have for you! Have fun stamping!

Spooky Eyes

This is the second card I made for the Hauting Halloween swap. This one is more spooky. Take a look:

Stamps: Dark And Dreary

Cardstock: Pear Pizzaz, Peach Parfait, Basic Grey, Whisper White

Ink: Pear Pizzaz, Elegant Eggplant, Rich Razzleberry, Elegant Eggplant, Basic Black

Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Die, Gold Brads, Needle Tool, Mat Pack, Stampin' Dimensionals, Two-Step Owl Punch, White Gel Pen, Markers: Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Two-Way Glue Pen

The card base is Pear Pizzaz cardstock cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" and scored at 4 1/4". The next panel is a piece of Peach Parfait cardstock cut at 4" x 5 1/4". The cardstock was then run through the Big Shot in the Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Die. After the cardstock was textured I used a brayer with Basic Black ink on the raised side to bring out the polka dots more. The Needle Tool and Mat Pack were used to punch holes in the bottom right corner of the cardstock and three Gold Brads were added. The Peach Parfait cardstock was then adhered to the card front.

A piece of Whisper White cardstock was cut to 3" x 3 1/2". Starting from the bottom right corner I sponged on Pear Pizzaz ink using a sponged dauber and a swirling motion going towards the center of the cardstock. After the entire corner was covered I turned the cardstock to sponge the opposite corner first with Rich Razzleberry ink and then with Elegant Eggplant ink to meet the Pear Pizzaz ink. This gives a a nice eerie green and purple glow in the bottom corner of the cardstock.

The candlestick from Dark And Dreary was stamped in Basic Black ink in the green corner of the cardstock. I then used a Basic Black marker to color in the candlestick so it is solid black. The candles were colored in with the Cherry Cobbler marker and the candle flames were colored in with the White Gel Pen. I thought it would look really creepy to have red candles with white flames with a green glow behind it. I punched out a set of eyes using the Two-Step Owl punch from Whisper White and Cajun Craze cardstock scraps and adhered them together with the Two-Way Glue Pen. They were then adhered to the sponged cardstock panel so that the eyes are looking directly at the candlestick.

The sponged panel was adhered to a piece of Basic Grey cardstock cut at 3 1/8" x 3 5/8" and then adhered to the card front. The "Happy Halloween" from Dark And Dreary was stamped on a scrap of Whisper White cardstock in Elegant Eggplant ink and cut out with Paper Snips. Then I used the brayer to add some Pear Pizzaz ink faded from the top of the cardstock down. This was adhered to the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals.

I hope you've enjoyed my Halloween creations. Make sure to come back tommorrow to see what I have to show you! Have fun stamping!