Celebrating A Birthday!

I couldn't be more pleased to celebrate the 13th birthday of Sweet 'N Sassy Stamps! As a former DT member and current customer, I know that they offer some amazing products, and the owner, Korin, is as nice as they come! I am happy to share some of my favorite makes today on this last day of the birthday celebration month. BUT today is the last day of their Black Friday 20% off sale, so be sure to grab the deals while you can!

I am sharing several cards today in no particular order - just ones I had a lot of fun making. Links to the products are below.

First up is a fun gate fold favorite, KITTY LOVE.

Next is one of my all time favorite snowmen - SNOWMAN SOUP.

Third is a cute pairing of coffee and donuts from YOU & ME.

And finally, this precious deer from FUR-EVER FRIENDS. I love him so much!

Happy Birthday, SNSS and Korin! So excited for you, your family, and your company!

Festive Friday #0073

Happy Friday!

Today there is a new challenge up at Festive Friday! We're celebrating the Winter Solstice, and using our fabulous Inspo List #FF0073 to inspire us (below). If you are new to the FF Challenges, you can choose any three items (or more!) from our list to inspire your creativity. Your card does not have to be about the Winter Solstice in particular.

I chose these three items from the Inspo List: purple, snowflakes, metallics. I am so glad purple was a choice! It's a color I love to see on cards, but for some reason, I rarely use it myself! I had the large snowflake left over from another project, so cut another smaller one from Winter Snowflakes Dies (PFS) and added some confetti and metallic sequins from my stash. The background is dry embossed with a snow embossing folder. The frame and sentiment are from SSS.

I hope you will join us for this challenge. Remember, you can choose any three from the list, for any occasion or theme! And what a fun list!

For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the Festive Friday Challenge Design team!

Freshly Made Sketches #463

Hello everyone! It's Wednesday, and that means a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! The very talented Amy is our hostess this week!

Usually I look at the sketch and then choose what I am going to make depending on what I think will work well with the sketch. This week I was determined to use my new stamps from Ink to Paper - this lovely Deer To Me set. I'm glad I grabbed it on the first day, as it's sold out now! I missed out on the last deer set (Winter Wonder - which is now back in stock!), so I didn't hesitate when I saw this one. Anyway, I struggled with the sketch more than I normally would because of my determination to use the deer. I had two deer, then more foliage, then fewer patterns..... but I finally settled on one deer and the sweet sentiment. I added a tiny floral sprig from the set in the corner.

I love how the deer dies have texture on them! I used patterned paper from Bo Bunny and a retired Elizabeth Crafts Design set of nested stitched rectangles to cut all of my paper and cardstock. I tied gold metallic thread around the bottom of the card.

I hope you will join our sketch challenge this week, and add your creations to our gallery! 

 

This challenge will end at 3:00 EST time on Monday, November 30th. On Tuesday, we will announce the winner of this week's challenge who will be known as the "Queen or King of Clean". The team will choose other gallery favorites to be known as a "Perfect Princess or Prince". Be sure to stop at the Freshly Made Sketches blog, and click on the names of my teammates to see what beauty they have created this week!

 

Visible Image Stamps' Dragonfly Dreams

I love a good collage stamp! Especially since I am not the most creative at putting collages together. So when it comes all neat and tidy like Dragonfly Dreams from Visible Image Stamps, I am in love!

I made a watercolor background using Peeled Paint and Shabby Shutters DOX. I stamped the collage on top with VersaFine Onyx Black (my favorite Clair Nocturne went dry on me - I think I didn't close the lid tight!).

For embellishments, I added Boiled Sugar Acrylic Drops from Trinity Stamps randomly to mimic the circles in the stamped images. After adhering this panel to a textured complimentary green, I tied my favorite Gold Metallic thread (Kreinik) around the bottom of the card, and adhered everything to a black cardstock base.

This stamp set comes with the large dragonfly collage, and three different sentiments. I fit the Self Reflection sentiment right in with the collage. 

There are some GREAT DEALS at Visible Image Stamps during their Black Friday Sale -- some stamps are up to 70% off! Check it out here ---> SALE. Links to the products I have used are below.

Challenges:

• Crafty Sentiment Designs - Anything Goes

Phoenix Rising

Today I am super excited to finally be able to share one of the new releases from Visible Image Stamps! There are six new sets in this release, and I am getting inky this weekend to show you more. Today's new set is called PHOENIX RISING. I absolutely love the images and accompanying sentiments. Take a peek:

I had this background piece still on my desk from an earlier project. I made it with Nuvo Shimmer Powders. I ADORE these powders. Think Brushos with an incredible amount of shine. I used Atlantis Burst and Golden Sparkler. I have a Boomerang video on my Instagram account, where you can see the shine in my previous project with the background. (And I am fewer than TEN followers away from 1000! I would love to have you follow me there to get to my goal!). 

I stamped the Phoenix in VersaMark ink, and then embossed with WOW! Primary Ebony Embossing Powder. I did dip his tail in a hybrid mixture I made from several powders that the ashes are also embossed with. I liked the "coming from the ashes" in one ethereal look, and then bursting upward with a solid new look. The sentiment is also embossed in black. I love how it turned out!

Tune in tomorrow for another creation using new stamps from the Visible Image November Release!

25 Days of Christmas Tags with Picket Fence Studios!

 

Today Picket Fence Studios is joining Tracey McNeely and her spectacular 25 Days of Christmas Tags event. This is the 10th year! You can find all the details over on Tracey's blog, as well as the link to all of the Picket Fence Studios tag inspiration. There is so much festive fun! 

I started with the Candy Cane Lane Stencil. This is a must have and a STEAL on sale for $1.99 (link below)! I used my Life Changing Blender Brushes and Worn Lipstick DOX for a faded and subtle background. I then die cut my tag, and two layers of snow, using some shimmery white and silver cardstock. 

Next I stamped the larger elegant reindeer and holly from On A Christmas Walk, and embossed them with Clear Gloss WOW! Embossing Powder. I colored each with Copic markers, and cut them out with the Coordinating Dies. I added Blush Pink Pearls from Kaiser for my holly berries, and a few gorgeous Moonshine Sequins for bling and sparkle. These sequins are amazing! My trims are pink organza and silver cord from my stash.

Thank you to all of the amazing sponsors for this event, and to Tracey, especially for all of the fun. There are many ways to win so head on over to Tracey’s main post for all the details! So many prizes and giveaways!

I hope that you will also follow me on Instagram! I am a handful away from 1000 followers! Here is the link.

Picket Fence Studios' November Release Day!

It's the 14th of the month, and that means Release Day for Picket Fence Studios! You are going to be seeing some AMAZING creations from the team over the next couple of days - weeks! 

Today I am sharing a very special snowflake - Lydia! Can you all guess who that is named after? It's a beautiful large die, and I had a ton of fun creating with it. The Snowflake Lydia Die is about 4 inches square and perfect to fill up an A2 sized card.

For my first card, I chose a Gel Press print that I have had for a long time that I wasn't happy with. It just was, in my opinion, kind of ugly. But as my gel printing mentor, LYDIA, has told me, never throw them away, because you might find a use for it in a way you don't expect. And that's exactly what happened. Here is a photo of the 6x6 print (in bad lighting, of course). I know.....right?

 And here is what it looks like as a snowflake. I love it!

I used the negative die and paired it with one of the sentiments from Fancy Christmas Sentiments. I added some pretty Purple People Eater Sequins. It looks frosty cool!

Next up is the same snowflake - with the addition of the beautiful Winter Snowflakes Dies. I used the Slim Line Die Cutting System to cut my layers, and then centered the evergreen tree die in the center. I cut many snowflakes out of white and kraft cardstock, and layered them up on my main panel, along with the Snowflake Lydia Die. 

When I was happy with the arrangement, I added my background sky that I had made from a large panel of Nuvo Shimmer Powders. I ADORE these powders. Think Brushos with an incredible amount of shine. I used Atlantis Burst and Golden Sparkler. I have a Boomerang video on my Instagram account, where you can see the shine. (And I am TEN followers away from 1000! I would love to have you follow me there to get to my goal!). My sentiment ("Christmas Magic is Real") is from Inside Quotes: Christmas. I added my favorite Irish Coffee Sequins for a festive look.

Finally, I used just the Winter Snowflakes to create this frosty card of pinks, blues and purples. I used the negative dies as STENCILS (!) and lightly blended different colors of DOX inks with my Life Changing Blender Brushes. I added die cut snowflakes on top out of shimmery cardstock for a winter blizzard, and a sentiment from Inside Quotes: Christmas to complete the look - with of course sparkly sequins: Gin and Tonic!

I hope you will check out the entire release, and find LOTS to play with! Links to the products I have used today are below. Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out Picket Fence Studios for the entire release! I will be back tomorrow with more stamping inspiration.

Festive Friday #0072

Happy Friday!

Today there is a new challenge up at Festive Friday! We're celebrating Thanksgiving, and using our fabulous Inspo List #FF0072 to inspire us (below). If you are new to the FF Challenges, you can choose any three items (or more!) from our list to inspire your creativity. Your card does not have to be about Thanksgiving in particular - like mine this week!

Today I am using some amazing products from Altenew. I think I actually purchased these things in the Seasons of Joy kit last year even, and had never inked them up! I used one of the kit cards and created this week's challenge card. I started with the Tree Ring Stencil and Gathered Twigs DOX. The sentiment was stamped in Black Ink, and cut out with a stitched oval die. I then stamped the leaves and berries, and cut them out with the matching dies. Pretty simple, fast, and elegant!

I chose these three items from the Inspo List: leaves, wood, cranberry.

I hope you will join us for this challenge. Remember, you can choose any three from the list, for any occasion or theme! And what a fun list! You can add your entries to the gallery until November 23.

For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the Festive Friday Challenge Design team!

Ann Schach
Beth McCullough
Sharon Hashimoto Burkert
Melanie Hungerford
Helen Jennings
Stephanie Lanzalotto
Melva Peters
Judy Rozema

Freshly Made Sketches #461

Hello everyone! It's Wednesday, and that means a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! The very talented Karren is our hostess this week!

I added a little curve to my sketch to be able to play with the cute MFT Stamps August kit: Better Together. I am always a little behind in playing with my new craft toys, and while this kit is no longer available, the individual pieces are!

I used some cute patterned paper from the Road Trippin' Paper Pad for my background and car, and colored my images with Copics. Such fun to put together!

I hope you will join our sketch challenge this week, and add your creations to our gallery! 

This challenge will end at 3:00 EST time on Monday, November 16th. On Tuesday, we will announce the winner of this week's challenge who will be known as the "Queen or King of Clean". The team will choose other gallery favorites to be known as a "Perfect Princess or Prince". Be sure to stop at the Freshly Made Sketches blog, and click on the names of my teammates to see what beauty they have created this week!

 

Flying High

Making clouds is so relaxing, especially when an adorable squirrel is flying high! A quick post today to share this sweet CAS design.

This cutie is from Create A Smile's SWEATER WEATHER. I colored him with Copic markers, and then added the cloud stencil, keeping the clouds from going on the squirrel. I then cut out the middle panel and popped it up with foam tape. I added some cloud dies on the sides for texture. Isn't he cute?

Challenges:

• Crafty Sentiment Designs - Anything Goes
• Crafty Animals - Always Anything Goes
  

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It's Coffee Time!

It's Day 1 of the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop! And while our average November temp is usually around 45 degrees, today's high is going to be 79! I will take it! Because coffee is great ANY day!

My card today features a Distress Ink background and images from Altenew's Coffee With A Splash set. I stamped my cup and sentiment with Simon Hurley's grrr! ink and added some fun washi tape (I love it and never use it enough!) along the bottom - light pink sparkles and gold hearts. The Coffee Word Die (gold shimmer cardstock from Michael's) and Irish Coffee Sequins are from Picket Fence Studios.  HEY I AM HAVING A LITTLE GIVEAWAY of my own!

One lucky commenter will receive their own Irish Coffee Sequins Mix from me! Thanks for leaving some love!  I am just under 20 followers away from 1000 on Instagram @joy_in_a_jar, and I would love to have you follow me there!

Picket Fence Studios is having an AMAZING warehouse sale with up to 80% off. Shop HERE.

THANK YOU to all of the amazing Super Sponsors for the Hop! Have a GREAT Friday!