DogGone Delightful Stampin'

Mix-It Up Mondays ~~ A Chorus Line

Hello Fellow Stampers ~

I know!!  I know!!  I promised in June we were getting back on track.  Didn't happen!!  LOL

I came to the conclusion that I just really needed to take this Summer off from blogging and "tedious creating" as I call it.  Sometimes the pressure of needing to design or create something almost every day of the week takes its toll; and I have definitely been feeling burned out in many areas of my life over the past several months.  So taking a break is always a good thing!!  

We did manage Product Shares for the new 2022 July - December Holiday Mini Catalog!!  Those were wrapped up and out the door pretty quickly once the order arrived.  And we continue to hold the weekly Coffee & a Card Virtual Series Class here at DDS Studios.  If you haven't given this fun weekly class a try, sign up for the next round starting in August.  You can learn more about that upcoming class series HERE.

 

As we are moving into the "Dog Days of Summer" (as Sadie Ann has reminded me!!  LOL), and with a new Holiday Mini catalog in the house, it seems it is time to try to find the rhythm again.  It may be sporadic, we'll see.  Bear with me please, as we try to find that creative vibe again!!

Before July leaves us entirely, I did want to do my Annual "Christmas In July" week.  It's a fun time to dream of cooler days, even "sweater weather" while it's a broiling 100 degrees outside!!  LOL  And our local group just had our Christmas in July class a couple weekends ago, and had a grand time!!  So, I'm looking forward to sharing some fun with all of you!!

 

There is an adorable little stamp set, all the way in the back of your Holiday Mini Catalog (page 86), that may get missed if you aren't looking!!!

It's a "host reward" set that you can earn and purchase with your minimum $150 order and use your Host Rewards to get it.

It's called Caroling Mice - and the minute I saw it I thought it was adorable!!

This is a wonderful set for coloring - whether you choose to do so with Stampin' Blends, or watercolor painters or our Blender Pens; even our Watercolor Pencils would be wonderful to color these images.  And since it's "Watercoloring Month" at Stampin' Up!, it's the perfect time to experiment!!

Today's design was created on a Shaded Spruce card base.  I actually embossed the card front itself with the pine boughs emboss folder in the Wintry 3D Emboss Folder set.  This requires you to emboss twice across the card front since it is a 6-1/2" x 3-1/2" folder; which means it ends up embossing a piece of the back flap of yur card; but I didn't mind.  I thought it was a cool effect, and something different.

Then I layered Mint Macaron and Poppy Parade cardstock strips with an overlay of designer paper from the Santa Express Designer Series Paper collection for a festive background.  I like the combination of Shaded Spruce and Poppy Parade for a little bit different color combination.

 

I stamped my mice friends in Memento Tuxedo Black, and chose to use Stampin' Blends to color them.  I used quite a variety and had a lot of fun creating their costumes -- LOL.  I used light Smoky Slate to color their faces and paws to add just a touch of color for their fur.

Overall, I really love how they came out; and coloring for me is so calming and enjoyable.

 

I wrapped my layered center panels with Evening Evergreen 3/8" Open Weave Ribbon; and after popping my layered circles with dimensionals on the front of the card, added a nice bow.  The design is finished off with a stamped sentiment from the Christmas to Remember stamp set, and fussy cut.

The brand new Pearlized Ename Effects make it super easy to add little pearlized dots on your designs.  Just let them dry for a few minutes!!

 

I'll be back a little later as I continue to try to do some "catch up" here with all of you!!

I Love to hear from you.  Leave your questions or comments below!!

Hugs, . . .

Mix-It Up Mondays ~~ Clever Halloween Card Set

 

Hello Fellow Stampers ~

It's Monday ~~  time to kick off our creative juices for the week.  And we're on Week 2 of our 4 Weeks of Halloween fun!!  And I have a VERY adorable set of cards to share with you today ~~  I'm sooooo excited!!!  LOL  

It's fabulous when you get excited about creating and sharing with others!!  One of the number of things I LOVE about being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator!  So let's play . . . .

 

Today's Halloween designs use the Clever Cats photopolymer stamp set.  Adorable!!!

I created a set of three 5" x 5" square cards to showcase each of my cute Halloween motifs.

Let's take a closer look at each design!!

 

Don't mess with the Grumpy Halloween Cat!!  -- LOL

All of today's card designs are on a 10" x 5", scored @ 5", Thick Basic White cardbase.  You'll have to create a special envelope for these if mailing 😉😉

For this card, I chose to mat with Pale Papaya (rather than the traditional Pumpkin Pie) cardstock - I love the softer feel around the edges.  Then I chose this adorable fun design out of the Cute Halloween DSP pack.

The finished layering is wrapped with the 3/8" Black Glittered Organdy Ribbon, and a lovely bow to finish it all off.

I decided the Stitched Rectangle Dies worked best for a popped up center panel on this card due to the broom image fit best on this sized rectangle.

The Broom image is stamped in Soft Suede ink; Grumpy Cat (that's what I'm calling him -- LOL), is in Memento Tuxedo Black; and I stamped the hat image on a scrap piece of Basic White paper in Pumpkin Pie ink, then fussy cut it out, after adding the hat band and the cute polka-dots using my Dark Basic Black Stampin' Blend marker.  The hat has Clear Wink of Stella on it for some nice "wink wink" - and is attached with glue dots.

It's all finished off with the Cute Stars Adhesive-Backed Sequins.

 

If you ink up just the cat body (not the tail), you can create an adorable inside panel for your card!!

 

Our next card showcases the adorable jack-o-lantern image from the stamp set.

For this card, I did use the darker Pumpkin Pie cardstock; then I used this wonderful black & white design out of the paper pack, and colored just the center stripe on the scattered candy corns with my Dark Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Blend.  It's the perfect 'pop' in the background.  This is what is so wonderful about black & white paper images -- you can do all sorts of things with them and make them your own!!!

On this card I am showcasing a little technique I taught my virtual Coffee & a Card class last month -- how to color your White 3/8" Glittered Organdy Ribbon to create any color ribbon you want or need.  Tip:  Color your "glittered" ribbon from the back side of the ribbon, with the side of your wide-tip brush end of your Stampin' Blends marker.  This keeps from damaging both the tip of your marker AND the marker as a whole (you don't want to run that marker over the glitter on the front side of the ribbon).

Now we have the perfect Pumpkin Pie Glittered Organdy Ribbon!!!  Yeah!!

I snuck out those "retired" Layering Squares Dies!!  -- this is why we keep I stash I tell myself -- LOL

So if you have this wonderful set of dies, pull them out and use them!!!

Mister Jack-o-Lantern is stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Blends.

Once again, the hat was stamped separately, and then fussy cut - with plenty of Clear Wink of Stella added!!!  heehee

 

The last card design incorporates several elements from the previous designs (the broomstick, hat and sentiment); but adds several other cute images from the stamp set we hadn't played with yet.  Don't you just adore that cute spider?!  LOL

This time I went with the "lime green" color scheme - using Granny Apple Green with this fun stripe print from the designer series paper pack.

I returned to our Stitched Rectangle to accommodate the broom image, which I turned the opposite direction this time from the kitty card.

And once the fussy cut hat was popped in place with dimensionals (don't forget your Wink 😉), I added the cute spider and spider "thread"; and our bat trio!

This time I went with the Gray Granite 1/4" Shimmer Ribbon for my ribbon accent.  And as with the other cards, it's all finished off with those fabulous Cute Stars Adhesive-Backed Sequins.

How about another simple, cute idea for the inside of your card!!??!!

And there you have it!!

An adorable card set, all dressed and ready for Halloween!!

 

I hope today's card designs have inspired you; and that you're ready to go crafting!!!  

Join me tomorrow as we check out what Stampin' Up! has for us for deals and steals this week!

 

I Love to hear from you.  Leave your questions or comments below!!

Hugs, . . .

 

Timeless Tulips Sympathy . . .

Hello Fellow Stampers ~

Well, if you're wondering if I'm still here  . . .  the answer is yes!!!  It's been a kind of crazy several weeks; moving my mother-in-law to a different apartment and higher level of assistance at the Assisted Living Facility; sorting out the entire 2nd bedroom (quilt room) from her apartment that we brought home with us, and getting everything we weren't keeping off to charity; and then there's the multiple snow storms, culminating with the more than 2 footer over this past weekend!!  Am I sick of snow yet?!?  LOL

Nevertheless, inbetween all of that, and keeping up with my regular job, and trying to do some work on my own quilting projects, it seems card designing has fallen in the cracks!!  Yikes!  Actually I've had several projects on the work table these past couple of weeks, I just need to concentrate on where I'm taking those ideas is all!

 

So, as we kick ourselves back into gear here, I'm starting with something that is my least favorite card to design - a Sympathy card.  Probably the most necessary card we create; but one that I always find difficult.

We have lost a very dear friend of the family recently, and so I am finding it necessary to send out warm thoughts.  I've decided now is the time to share a card I designed for a customer a year ago when her mother passed away and she asked me to help her create something to announce the passing to friends and family.  The card on the upper left is that final design - done in Pear Pizzazz and Rococo Rose (for the tulip).

 

What I decided was since it was a male who passed away, to re-design the card using a different color palate; so I used Night of Navy and Daffodil Delight for the tulip.

I love the Timeless Tulips stamp set for sympathy cards; and will definitely keep this one on hand after it retires.  There is just something so special about this sentiment!!

So whereas the first card was done on a Whisper White (or Basic White) Thick cardstock base; this one was done using Very Vanilla Thick Cardstock (4-1/4" x 11", scored at 5-1/2").  The background of Night of Navy is cut 4" x 5-1/4"; and then an overlay of Vellum cut 3-7/8" x 5-1/8".

Then I used the largest of the fabulous Stitched So Sweetly Dies to cut the center panel from Shimmery White Cardstock; and created the Tulip from there.

The sentiment was cut with the smallest rectangle from the Stitched Rectangle Dies.  The center panel is popped with dimensionals; and everything else is adhered flat.

A few simple pearls and some Wink of Stella finish off this design.

 

The inside of the card is simple - with a stamped off version of the tulip and this sweet sentiment, also found in the stamp set.

I can now write my personal message over the tulip stamped lightly in the background.

 

I think this will be a sympathy card design I may re-create often; I just really love the simplicity and the sentiment.  I think each person makes a difference in someone's life!!

If you haven't snagged the Timeless Tulips stamp set and coordinating builder punch for yourself before this, tomorrow is THE day!!!

For ONE DAY ONLY - beginning at Midnight Tonight -- all day March 17th - celebration St. Patty's Day!  LOL

Free Shipping on minimum orders of $50 -- don't miss this HUGE savings!!!

 

I Love to hear from you.  Leave your questions or comments below!!

Hugs, . . .

 

 

 

Final Day of the 2020 Holiday Mini Catalog - And Some Feels Like Frost Card Ideas

Hello Fellow Stampers ~

Whew!  We've slid right into 2021 so quickly, it could make your head spin!!  LOL  I've been doing some resting over the weekend; and also starting to do some clean up and catch up in the Studio.  This morning early, I cleaned out and dusted one of my china cupboards -- Yuck!  LOL  I saw so much dust in certain areas around the house this holiday season, that I was like . . . Yikes!!  I MUST do some much needed "Late Fall/Early Spring" cleaning!  So I think January will be a good month for that -- LOL

Today is the VERY LAST day to order from the 2020 August - December Mini Catalog.  Until Midnight tonight is your last opportunity to snag any of those designer papers, ribbons, embellishments, stamp sets, die, punches, etc., that are going out.  So don't miss this opportunity.  When these beautiful products are gone . . .  they'll be gone!!

Today I have a set of cards showcasing a beautiful set of designer paper, that we had the privilege of enjoying for a second season; but will now officially retire - the Feels Like Frost 6" x 6" Specialty DSP!

And I'm dusting off an "old" design from 2016 when we had another wonderful designer paper that showcased just this easily as well!

You can see that blog post HERE!

I'm excited to show you wonderfully Pretty cards; with a quick and easy simple design!

These cards again use our wonderful ready-made Notecards and Envelopes set - 3-1/2" x 5" when folded.  Just love these quick little notecards!

Then the secret for this design is stamping the sentiment directly onto the designer paper.

I chose these two sentiments from the retiring Beautiful Autumn Stamp Set.  Did you get yours??  This is a sweet little stamp set with a wonderful set of matching punches to go with it!

Like the 2016 design, these two cards showcase a strip of the designer paper's back side (yes, the front has all these wonderful photographed images; and the back designs are all silver foils - I hope you didn't miss this paper this year!)

Matted with a corresponding cardstock color; they are then wrapped with a pretty ribbon, adhered to the front of the card base; and finished off with some Elegant Faceted Gems (some of my favorites)

The other two cards in this set I changed up just slightly from the original design.

For this card I added just a strip of our 1/2" Purple Posy Scalloped Linen Ribbon.

And for this card I folded a piece of the 1/2" Metallic Mesh Ribbon, and tied it around the layers below the sentiment before attaching it to the card front.  It is sooooo pretty!!!

 

Then I decided to take this gorgeous paper and use it on a regular 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" card, using our Curvy Dies.

Don't you just love these ??!!  😁

For the first card, I laid the cut DSP over a piece of Seaside Spray cardstock - Note: there is no "dimension" to this card.  The piece measures 4-1/4" x 5-1/2", so it covers the complete card base front.

Then I cut off the edge of a piece of 1/2" Seaside Spray Scalloped Linen Ribbon, and attached it along the curved edge; finishing off the card with a scattering of pearls.

The sentiment is stamped right on the cardstock under the curved edge!

Simple and pretty!!

 

For the 2nd of this set of cards, I again cut the "edge" of the designer paper with one of the Curvy Dies to get the dotted edge.

This card is "stepped up" somewhat more than all the others.  I embossed the underlying Purple Posy cardstock using the retiring Winter Snow Embossing Folder.  Then the designer paper is popped with dimensionals over the top.  The sentiment was stamped on a piece of Shimmery White cardstock, measuring 1/2" x 3-1/2", and punched on each end with the Banners Pick a Punch.

I added the remaining piece of the ribbon I cut noted above on the other card; and finished off with pearls.

 

 

I hope these cards have inspired you!  Do NOT miss out on putting this paper in your craft stash at home!  You will want to have it on hand for sure!  The stamp set, punches, embossing folder . . . are all retiring at the end of the day! 

Let me know if you have questions or need any assistance!  I'm always here for you 😉

I Love to hear from you.  Leave your questions or comments below!!

Hugs, . . .

 

 

16 Weeks of Christmas ~ Week 10

Hello Fellow Stampers ~ 

Yes, I really am still here; and alive!!  I apologize.  The past some weeks away from the blog were not planned; but somewhat go with the way this year has gone.  No inspiration, somewhat depressed, just can't seem to get my self in gear!!  Everyone I have talked to in the past several weeks is telling me the same thing; so I'm not feeling as bad as I was.  Nevertheless, I am determined to kick myself out of these doldrums, and the rest of you along with me.

I mean seriously!!  We're waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy behind on our Christmas inspiration; there's a new catalog on the horizon; and I have a room filling up with all sorts of new products.  So enough is enough, right?!?

This week will be about catching up our 16 Weeks of Christmas; and I'm planning to share some pretty, but easy to put together for those last minute cards you need to throw together.  We also are kicking off the Annual Year-End Sale as we close out this gorgeous holiday catalog; we have a blog hop this week.  And it's time for a last minute "Create With Ann & Wendy" kitorial too!!  So hang on everyone! We're going to pull off a Christmas Miracle!!  🎅🤶

 

Believe it or not this has been lying on my work table for the past several weeks.  I did finish it up last week; just didn't get it posted - so sorry!!

Today's 16 Weeks of Christmas card features a set that is PERFECT for all the colorers out there!

Light Me Home is that perfect "vintage" stamp set that allows you to play with your Blends, blenders pens, or anything else you'd like!  I think colored pencils would be nice to use for this project too!!

 

This gorgeous image is stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

Then I used a combination of Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Cherry Cobbler, Gray Granite & Smoky Slate Stampin' Blends to create my scene (with a little light Crumb Cake on the dirt path).

For the "snow" on the tree, I added Shimmery Crystal Effects for a lovely glistening shine.

And for the rest - the bench, light post, and across the roof and far bushes and trees - I used our favorite Clear Wink of Stella for lots of shimmer.  Do this carefully - you don't want the shimmer to be where you don't want it!!  LOL

 

This card is layered out on a Merry Merlot card base, 8-1/2" x 5-1/2", scored at 4-1/4".

Then I layered a piece of our Brushed Metallic Cardstock over Mossy Meadow, first punching each corner with the Detailed Trio Punch (love this punch - doesn't get used enough).

The finished "scene" was cut with our new Celebration Labels Dies (don't miss these wonderful dies - they'll be gone soon!!), and popped over the layers and our lovely 1/8" Old Olive Gold-trimmed ribbon.

Finished off with the sentiment on the smallest circle in the Stitched Shapes Dies.

And all of it covered in a smattering of the Snowflake Sequins (love these!)

 

Other than spending a little time with some easy coloring, and letting the Crystal Effects dry, these was a really easy card to throw together!!

Don't miss this "sleeper" stamp set!

I'll be back to fill you in on what all is retiring from our August to December 2020 catalog, and the BIG Annual Year-End Clearance sale, starting tomorrow.

 

I'll see you all in the morning -- enjoy today's 16 Weeks of Christmas installment!

 

I Love to hear from you.  Leave your questions or comments below!!

Hugs, . . .