Stampin'B Challenge - Thanksgiving/Pumpkins

Brenda was hostess this week for the Stampin'B's challenge and asked us to make a Thanksgiving card with pumpkins on it. One of my favorite pumpkin stamps is actually part of a bigger stamp from the Stampin' Up set Harvest Home. I stamped it with Palette Burnt Umber on Mark's Finest Papers Corn Husk and then colored it with Prismacolor markers.

After cutting out the pumpkins, I popped them up on a circle of MFP Rusty Nail and Corn Husk and mounted the circle on my card. The sentiment is from the same SU set, and the DP is from a pad of Debbie Mumm harvest patterned paper that I bought last year. The layout is part of September's collection from Page Maps.

These cute little pilgrim children salt & pepper shakers match the set of adult salt & pepper shakers I posted a couple of weeks ago. They also are from Publix supermarket and appear in their Thanksgiving TV commercials.

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Stamps - SU Harvest Home

Paper - Mark's Finest Papers Rusty Nail and Corn Husk; Debbie Mumm Harvest & Holiday DP

Ink - Palette Burnt Umber

Accessories - Circle Nestabilities, Pop dots

Christmas Ornaments

The Technique Challenge on SplitcoastStampers this week was to make a Christmas ornament. Joan Ervin was the hostess and she provided several links to tutorials. I started with an easy one this morning before I went to work.

This Double Ball Ornament was made with half-inch strips of patterned paper which you place on a large pin. I used one that comes in the SU Pretties kit. Here is the tutorial for this ornament. I had some scraps of Heidi Grace Jolly & Bright Mini Dots DP which I cut into the half-inch strips. After building the two balls, I placed a pearl and a bead on the pin before attaching the clutch at the bottom.

This medallian ornament was much more difficult. However, Becca Feeken's tutorial is very detailed, and I was able to put this together. I watched the video twice, stopping it at strategic points so I could put mine together. I used Stampin' Up Shimmer White and Mark's Finest Papers' Sparkling Silver cardstock. The pieces are cut with the Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Pendant Shapeabilities dies. After assembling the pieces, I added some pearls. Glutton for punishment that I am, I may just make another one of these before Christmas.

I thought this cute little mouse and ornament salt and pepper shakers would be the perfect accompaniement for my ornaments.

StampinB Challenge

Vicky Gould was the hostess for today's Stampin'B's challenge. We can always count on Vicky to come up with a good one, and today was no exception. She wanted us to make a Halloween card -- but not to use orange or black. Two other colors used often for Halloween are purple and green, so that is what I used.

I like color-blocking, so I cut four squares, two each of green and purple DP from a pack of Halloween paper from Michaels. The card base is Mark's Finest Papers' Momma's Favorite Purple, with a layer of white between. The white layer is cut with a deckle blade. After mounting all the various layers, the top scenic layer was popped up on pop dots. The scene was made by stamping the images in Versafine Imperial Purple and clear embossed. I know it probably looks like black ink; but, believe me, it is definitely purple! The moon was colored with two Ranger inks (Mustard Seed and Wild Honey), sponged through a circle I punched in a Post-It note with a 1-inch circle punch. Then I covered the moon with the punched-out piece and colored the sky with Pebbles Chalk.

I have no more Halloween salt and pepper shakers, but I thought this black cat would work.

MFP Blog Hop - Day 4

Welcome to the MFP October Blog Hop! This month, we’ve added TWO MORE STAMP SETS!!!

While I’m not officially part of the Blog Candy hop today, thanks for stopping by and looking at my projects.

We have 6 New Stamp Sets Released this month: Seasonal Poinsettias, Time to Chill, A Walk in the Woods, Greetings of the Season, Thankful for You, Snowman Country. For your convenience, all 6 stamp sets are available for purchase TODAY!

For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, (a set that will be released NEXT month), visit and comment on each of the design team members' blogs TODAY. On Saturday, (October 16, 2010), a winner will be chosen from those participants who visited all the blogs listed for today. (There will be four different winners, one winner for each day of the blog hop. You DO NOT have to comment every day. However, the more days you comment, the more chances you have to win!) If you miss a day, you can go back and comment on each day's blogs, as the winners will be chosen Saturday morning!

We end the Blog Hop with Snowman Country.

My first project for today is a coaster. Several years ago, I watched a tutorial about stamping on tumbled tiles, which I could only find at Home Depot. After stamping the image with Black StazOn ink, I stamped it again several times on post-it notes and cut out the portion I wanted to color. I sponged red, green, and white StazOn in the appropriate spots. Because the StazOn ink is waterproof, you do not have to seal the tile.

The large snowman and tree are separate stamps, whereas the ones on the mug are all one stamp. After stamping the snowman and masking it with a post-it note, I stamped the tree and then cut them out together. They are both colored using Copic markers. The snow on the bottom of the card is three pieces of torn white paper on which I embossed with Winter Wonderland embossing powder. The sky is sponged with Tim Holtz Distressed inks and then spritzed with a little water to create the snowy look. Polar White Flower Soft is used on the tree for snow.

Like the pilgrims from yesterday, these snowmen salt & pepper shakers came from Publix.

Be sure to visit the rest of the team to see what they did with this set and comment on each of the participating members’ blogs. You have one more chance to win one of the stamp sets to be released next month.

Here is the Blog Hop LINE UP:


Emily
Karen
Patty
Roxie
Vicki

Liz
Claudine
Dawn
Joanne T
Nicole
Marilynn

Peggysue

Susan
Judi
Connie

Mark’s Finest Papers

MFP Blog Hop - Day Three and Stampin'B's Challenge

Welcome to the MFP October Blog Hop! This month, we’ve added TWO MORE STAMP SETS!!!

And…LOOK for a NEW LINK LIST TOMORROW!!!

We have 6 New Stamp Sets Released this month: Seasonal Poinsettias, Time to Chill, A Walk in the Woods, Greetings of the Season, Thankful for You, Snowman Country. For your convenience, all 6 stamp sets are available for purchase TODAY!

For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, (a set that will be released NEXT month), visit and comment on each of the design team members' blogs TODAY. On Saturday, (October 16, 2010), a winner will be chosen from those participants who visited all the blogs listed for today. (There will be four different winners, one winner for each day of the blog hop. You DO NOT have to comment every day. However, the more days you comment, the more chances you have to win!) If you miss a day, you can go back and comment on each day's blogs, as the winners will be chosen Saturday morning!

My first project is serving two purposes – the Stampin’B’s challenge for this week and also Day 3 of the Blog Hop.

The hostess for this week’s Stampin’B’s challenge was NancyRuth, who wanted us to use fall colors on our cards. Today’s MFP set, Thankful for You, was perfect. I decided to make a side-step card, using cardstock from the MFP Harvest Premium Paper Combo. I stamped the cute little pilgrim girl, colored her with Copic markers, and then cut her out. I also stamped and cut out the wheat, pumpkins and corn shock. I added some wire to the pumpkins to look like vines. The fence across the front was punched with a Martha Stewart punch.

The cute little pilgrim girl is making a repeat appearance in my second card. After stamping and masking her, I stamped the corn shock behind her and then sponged in the sky, using a template made from a scalloped circle punch. I cut another pumpkin and popped it up with pop-dots. I think I mentioned earlier in the week that I like plaid, and I found another plaid pattern in the Recollections Autumn pad.

These pilgrim salt & pepper shakers were purchased at my local Publix super market. They appear as part of a TV commercial series each year around Thanksgiving. Those of you who are familiar with Publix have probably seen the commercials.


Don’t forget -- For another chance to win a free stamp set, be sure to visit the blogs of the rest of today’s design team and comment on each.

The Blog Hop line-up is:

Nancyruth

Lois (that’s me)

Vicky

Jeanne
Anne
Emily
Karen
Patty
Roxie
Vicki

Liz
Claudine
Dawn
Joanne T
Nicole
Marilynn

Mark’s Finest Papers

MFP Blog Hop - Day 2

Welcome to the MFP October Blog Hop! This month, we’ve added TWO MORE STAMP SETS!!!

And…LOOK for a NEW LINK LIST TOMORROW!!!

We have 6 New Stamp Sets Released this month: Seasonal Poinsettias, Time to Chill, A Walk in the Woods, Greetings of the Season, Thankful for You, Snowman Country. For your convenience, all 6 stamp sets are available for purchase TODAY!

For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, (a set that will be released NEXT month), visit and comment on each of the design team members' blogs TODAY. On Saturday, (October 16, 2010), a winner will be chosen from those participants who visited all the blogs listed for today. (There will be four different winners, one winner for each day of the blog hop. You DO NOT have to comment every day. However, the more days you comment, the more chances you have to win!) If you miss a day, you can go back and comment on each day's blogs, as the winners will be chosen Saturday morning!

Again I have created two projects with today’s sets – A Walk in the Woods and Greetings of the Season.

My first card for A Walk in the Woods is a pretty simple one that needs very little explanation. I stamped the leafless tree four times and sponged the backgrounds. Then I put some Flower Soft on three of them to depict spring, summer, and fall. The fourth one I left alone. Because of the size of the four tree panels, I needed to make a larger than A2 card. My card measures 5 inches by 6 ½ inches.

Another rather simple card – this time one for Christmas. I love plaids, and Basic Grey’s new Christmas pad, Jovial, had this really pretty diagonal plaid which I wanted to show off. I cut the oval using my Creative Memories cutting system and then cut the solid red frame. I temporarily placed it onto the card base so that I would know exactly where to stamp the tree, which I then decorated with some bling. Finally I popped up the plaid layer with pop dots and mounted it on the card base.

My card for Greetings of the Season could encompass the entire Thanksgiving/Christmas season, but is probably closer to Thanksgiving than Christmas. The design is pretty self-explanatory, but the colors may be a little bit non-traditional. I like the blue/brown combination.

My second project is a calendar/note paper holder. I must confess that I have used ideas from several other stampers (Vicki Dutcher and DandI93 in particular) for this, making some subtle changes. After following DandI93’s instructions for making the box, I added the Basic Grey Indian Summer DP and mounted the cardinal panel, which is colored with Copic markers. I bought a calendar/note pad on sale for 50 cents at Michaels and separated the two parts. The calendar I glued to a Labels Four die-cut and mounted to the easel. The note pad I put into the drawer with a pen.

I have many “state” salt and pepper shakers. These shakers with the state bird of North Carolina seemed appropriate for today.


Be sure to visit the rest of the team to see what they did with these beautiful sets and comment on each blog. You have a chance to win one of the stamp sets to be released next month.

Here is today’s Blog Hop LINE UP:

Nancyruth

Lois (that’s me)

Vicky

Jeanne

Anne

Peggysue

Susan
Judi
Connie
Claudine
Dawn
Joanne T
Nicole
Marilynn

Mark’s Finest Papers

MFP Blog Hop - Day 1

Welcome to the Mark's Finest Papers' October Blog Hop! This month, we’ve added TWO MORE STAMP SETS!!!

And…LOOK for a NEW LINK LIST TOMORROW!!!

We have 6 New Stamp Sets Released today: Seasonal Poinsettias, Time to Chill, A Walk in the Woods, Greetings of the Season, Thankful for You, Snowman Country. For your convenience, all 6 stamp sets are available for purchase TODAY!

For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, (a set that will be released NEXT month), visit and comment on each of the design team members' blogs TODAY. On Saturday, (October 16, 2010), a winner will be chosen from those participants who visited all the blogs listed for today. (There will be four different winners, one winner for each day of the blog hop. You DO NOT have to comment every day. However, the more days you comment, the more chances you have to win!) If you miss a day, you can go back and comment on each day's blogs, as the winners will be chosen Saturday morning!

I’m starting off the Hop with two projects for each of today’s sets – Seasonal Poinsettias and Time to Chill.

My first project is a small box, which is made using a Sizzix Bigz XL die. I used some heavy Christmas paper from DCWV for the box, following the directions which I found on-line. The band is another DCWV paper, with the cute little penguin from Time to Chill, colored with Copic markers. I added some Glossy Accents on the icebergs and then cut it out with a circle Nestabilities die. The sentiment is popped up on pop dots. The nuggets inside are wrapped in DP from the same Christmas stack.

The idea for my card came to me at 4:00 a.m.; and, when I finally got up at 6:30, I had to put it together before I forgot. I stamped the snowflakes with Versamark and then embossed with Silver Tinsel embossing powder. All of the white pieces are matted in a relatively new blue from Mark’s Finest Papers called Blue Skies. The card measures 6 ½ inches by 3 ¼ inches.

This project was more or less an experiment. I stamped the small poinsettia ornament twice and then colored the images with Copic markers. After cutting both ornaments out, I glued them together and ran them through my Xyron machine, using the double sided laminate cartridge. I made a copy of the stamp and enlarged it to about 175%, taped the laminate onto the copy paper, centering the ornament, taped it down and cut out the larger shape. This gave me a clear border around the ornament. Then I ran some peel-and-stick gold strips around the edge, punched a hole in the top and ran some gold cord through the hole so I could hang it on an ornament stand.

Not a whole lot of explanation for this gatefold card. The poinsettia is colored with Copic markers, and the DP is Basic Grey Jovial. I added some gemstones to the square panel, and popped up the sentiment circle with a jumbo pop-dot.

No poinsettia, snow flake or penguin salt & pepper shakers, but here’s a set of shakers with holly leaves. These actually match my Christmas dinnerware.

Be sure to visit the rest of the team to see what they did with today's sets. And remember, you have a chance to win one of the stamp sets to be released next month.

Here is the Blog Hop LINE UP for today:

Nancyruth

Lois (that’s me)

Vicky

Jeanne

Anne

Peggysue

Susan
Judi
Connie
Emily
Karen
Patty
Roxie
Vicki

Liz
Mark’s Finest Papers

Some More Cards for MD Anderson

Here are some more cards that I made for the Hope You Can Cling To challenges on Splitcoaststampers -- in honor of Breast Cancer Month.

This card is actually in honor of my brother-in-law Mike, who died of throat cancer about five years ago. The challenge was to use a color denoting a particular kind of cancer. The colors for Head and Neck Cancer are burgundy and ivory.

This card was to be a square card and include at least four more squares. I think I had that covered as soon as I chose the DP for the background.

In addition to making my own flower (which was the challenge), I also made this card for the Speedy's Friends challenge to use stripes.

This card was to show what we might see as we walk. When I walk for exercise, my route takes me around a small lake to a city park and then through the woods. The trees in these woods are mainly pines and cypress -- and there really are eagles' nests in the trees.

And, finally, we were to use something old and something new on a card. The piano sticker has been in my embellishment drawer for about two years, and I bought the brocade embossing folder just this week.

At the end of October, I will send all these cards to M.D. Anderson hospital along with the rest of the challenge cards. I have been touched on more than one occasion by cancer. As I mentioned above, my brother-in-law died about five years ago. His battle with cancer started at the same time as my husband's. My husband Tom died of lung cancer about seven years ago, three months after he was diagnosed. Both my mother and mother-in-law had breast cancer. My mother was much more fortunate than my mother-in-law, who died of the disease. My mother is still plugging along at age 91. She is a 25-year survivor.

Stampin'B Challenge -- Fall

Fall has arrived -- even in Florida! So the Stampin' B's were asked by our hostess, Faith, to make a fall card.






I don't often make one layer cards, but I try to do one every once in a while. Today was the day. After embossing down the side with a Cuttlebug border folder, I sponged the oval using a template I had made with an oval Nestabilities die. Then I stamped the tree from a brand-new Mark's Finest Papers' set called A Walk in the Woods, which will be released next week. I added some Autumn Flower Soft on both the tree and on the ground. The large leaf is a button, from which I snipped the shank on the back so that it would lie flat.
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Stamps - Mark's Finest Papers - A Walk in the Woods
Paper - MFP Corn Husk
Ink - Palette Burnt Umber; Tim Holtz Distressed Bundled Sage, Tumbled Glass, Chipped Sapphire
Accessories - Oval Nestabilities die, Cuttlebug border embossing folder, Flower Soft, Button, Sponge daubers

World Card Making Day 2010

Today is World Card Making Day, and Splitcoaststampers is partnering with M. D. Anderson Cancer Center for a month-long card drive to benefit those affected by breast cancer. Every day there will be a challenge, and then at the end of the month, we're to mail our cards to M.D. Anderson for distribution among the patients. What a worthy cause! My mom is a 25-year breast cancer survivor, and I am more than happy to contribute to this worthy cause.

Each day will be new challenge, but they started off with a bang -- three challenges! The first was to make a holiday card, but use pink rather than traditional colors for that holiday. I'm in the process of making Halloween cards for the residents of the assisted living facility where my mom lives, so this was right in line with what I've been doing lately.

The second challenge was lingerie-inspired -- either with lingerie-type stamps or with lace and ribbon, satin and bows. Having no lingerie-type stamps, I opted for the second choice. I found this lacey ribbon in my stash of goodies.

The last challenge was a color challenge -- brown and pink. Fortunately, this Basic Grey DP is all about brown and pink. I actually combined this challenge with Speedy the Cat's Friends' challenge to make a card with buttons and bows.

My salt and pepper shakers for today had to be relative to all three challenges. I figure the pink dress on the girl and the pink ribbon on the goose would qualify.