Hello Stampin’ Friends!
I just wanted to let you know that there’s an absolutely gorgeous new card kit available today from Stampin’ Up.
I love to use Stampin’ Up kits for quick, I-need-it-now cards. BUT, I also give the kits as gifts to my crafty friends and grandkids. (They make great stocking-stuffers, too!) At only $14 it’s a steal of a deal!
Continue reading “Order Your Kit(s) TODAY… AND, Clearance Rack Update!”
Hello Stampin’ Friends!
Today’s post is all about a good ol’ color challenge!
My granddaughter, who’s 10, loves to come over and challenge me to a “3-color challenge”. Of course, she’s a girl after my own heart and LOVES Grammy’s craft room and all the colors to choose from.
Hello Stampin’ Friends!
I have a quick, fall-themed card today that was inspired by a card sketch by The Paper Players.
I look forward to the fall season each year, in fact, one might say it’s my favorite season of the year. Well, until spring rolls around. As soon as the temperatures begin to warm, the birds begin to sing, the flowers start to pop up from the ground, I’ll be saying spring is my favorite season! I guess I should just call it a draw between spring and fall!
At any rate, I saw this week’s sketch on The Paper Players (Challenge PP663) and thought I’d give it a go. I highly recommend going over to their website to see not only my take on their sketch, but many other talented cardmakers as well!
Card sketches are oftentimes my saving grace. A great place to start and let my imagination and creativity do the rest! And, a contest… well, if you have a competitive nature at all, make up a card and join in the fun!
Hello Stampin’ Friends!
I’M BACK!!!! It’s been a long time since I sat in front of my computer and typed out a new blog post, but I’ve missed y’all so LET’S DO THIS!
If you read my previous post from almost three years ago, it explains my long absence. My neurologist headache specialist recommended that I avoid “screens”, so I’ve been doing my best. However, I really enjoyed this creative outlet and so I’m going to try it again, just keeping my posts shorter and less chatty. My hope is that I can manage this without an increase in my chronic migraines.
Stampin’ Up continues to push out new and inspiring products with the new Holiday Mini Catalog. The big brown truck delivered to my door a few days ago and so I’ve been doing a little playing around with my new goodies!
First up is the new bundle Around the Bend. The fun curves in this bundle make layering so much fun. The dies are fabulous, mixing curves with little sprigs of leaves and a few different flowers. This set is a must for the avid card maker! Soooo many possibilities!
Hello Friends!
Today I’m going to show you how to make a Drapery Card Fancy Fold and showcase a new suite of products which will be available to order from the new January-June 2021 Mini Catalog. From here on out, I’m going to refer to this catalog as the new “Spring Catalog”, as the other is quite a mouth full! These catalogs should be mailing out to y’all on December 9, along with the Sale-A-Bration catalog (YAY!), so keep an eye out for them in your mailbox over the coming week! If you’ve ordered from me in the last 6 months, you’ll get one automatically. If you haven’t placed a recent order but would like to get your hands on these new catalogs, please just reach out to me via the contact tab above, and I’ll make sure you get one!
For those who are new, or don’t remember Sale-A-Bration, it’s a yearly event that Stampin’ Up has (though rumor has it there will be TWO Sale-A-Bration events in 2021! Maybe to celebrate 2020 being OVER??? – I think we’re all ready for a fresh new year!) At any rate, the Sale-A-Bration catalog contains exclusive items that you can get FREE only during the Sale-A-Bration period (Jan 5- Feb 28)! There are items you can receive free with a $50 purchase, and items you can receive free with a $100 purchase. Stamp sets and DSP (Designer Series Paper) that you can only get your hands on during Sale-A-Bration – these items are NOT available in any of the other catalogs! So look forward to getting your new catalog and get ready to order so you don’t miss out on FREE!!! Who doesn’t like free, right?
Another big announcement before we move onto the INKY business…
Stampin’ Up’s GIANT YEAR-END CLOSEOUT begins TODAY (Tuesday, 12/8/20) and runs through January 4! Many retiring items from the August-December 2020 Mini Catalog (Holiday catalog) will be sharply discounted and on a first-come-first-served basis. When they’re gone, they’re GONE FOR GOOD! I’m adding the list of retiring items in PDF format below, so check it out and order quickly. If you still have items on your wish list from the holiday catalog, now’s the time to get them ordered! If you need help doing so, I’d be happy to help – just reach out to me via the contact tab above!
Click HERE, or on the graphic below, for the YEAR-END CLOSEOUT RETIRING LIST! Products discounted up to 50%!
Now, onto the INKY Stuff!
Today I put together a Drapery Fun Fold Card and featured several products included in the Fine Art Floral Suite from the new “spring” catalog. The Fine Art Floral DSP is gorgeous in bright, bold colors. And, the new embossing folder, Painted Texture 3D, creates the texture of old, plastered walls. I can hardly wait for you to get your new catalogs so you can see all the gorgeous new “stuff”! I’m going to be tempting you with cards made with this suite over the next few posts!
I created a template for you today of the “drapery” portion of this card, which you can download here, to assist you in making your own Drapery Fun Fold Card. Or, if you have a Cricut (Explore or Maker), I’ve attached a cut file here.
I love the texture and dimension of this card, and I have no doubt the receiver will also. Let’s face it…you can’t buy a card with this much craftiness and bling! Speaking of bling, check out those Elegant Faceted Gems! I’ve had them in my stash for a while now and not really given them the respect they deserve! They’re gorgeous with so much sparkle! They sort of remind me of sparkly peanut-butter cookies with the criss-cross design across the surface!
Don’t forget to showcase that beautiful DSP on your envelope flap! Use the envelope flap to trace the shape for the outside, or use the Envelopes Dies to create an envelope liner…. OR DO BOTH like I did!
The Envelopes Dies are on sale now, marked down 40% as part of the Giant Year-End Closeout. Normally $36, they’re now just $21.60! The Ornamental Envelopes stamp set is not on sale, but if you want the “bundle”, it’s actually cheaper to buy the stamps and dies separately right now during the sale! The “bundle” in the catalog is $47.50, but right now ordered separately (stamps & dies) they’re $38.60! Just something to keep in mind!
Continue reading “Make A Drapery Card AND It’s Closeout Time!”
Hello Friends!
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and have recovered from the self-induced food coma that inadvertently follows the Thanksgiving meal! Our Thanksgiving was extra special this year. My son, Adam, who’s a cowboy in Nevada, called me Wednesday morning just to chat. During the course of our conversation he mentioned that he was driving on icy roads. I asked him where he was headed and his reply was, “To see you!” This momma instantly got teary, as it’s been several years since he’s been able to join us for Thanksgiving, or any holiday for that matter! What a fantastic surprise that was! It’s been too long time since I’ve had all three of my beautiful kids home together under the same roof! Yes, Thanksgiving was truly a day to give thanks!
I love the holidays and I love cooking for family and friends. As usual, I told myself I’d keep it simple this year, stick to the tried and true recipes. But…what fun is THAT? I love trying new recipes and always manage to throw in something NEW and untried when large gatherings are anticipated! This year was no exception!
Dean wanted to smoke our turkey(s) this year which left me with a dilemma… What would I do about GRAVY? Thanksgiving REQUIRES mashed potatoes and gravy, right? So to the internet I turned and found a “Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy”. Perfect! The recipe called for 6 turkey wings which are then roasted in order to get the drippings for making gravy. I thought sure, why not; turkey wings are SURELY super cheap, right? I mean, who would buy turkey wings after all – they’re not exactly the prime piece of turkey! Well, was I ever in for a surprise! I ended up paying $5 per turkey wing (x6)! The recipe said I would yield about 8 cups of gravy…NOT! I followed the directions to the “T”, using 2 quarts of chicken broth, and even throwing in an extra cup of “Better Than Bouillon”. All said, I only ended up with about 4 cups of turkey gravy. Thankfully it turned out to be enough, but that gravy ended up costing about $35! It was delicious, however, and received several compliments! Note to self… next time use chicken wings/thighs/drums which ARE cheap – pretty sure nobody would know the difference!
I also elected to try a new corn casserole this year. For years now, our Thanksgiving dinners have included a type of creamed-corn casserole that we affectionately call “Landon’s Corn”, as my nephew, Landon, absolutely went nuts over this corn when he was a little boy (he’s now 32)! Given the Covid concerns this year, we didn’t do our usual huge family gathering and I elected to try something different with the corn, since Landon wasn’t going to be there anyway. Thankfully the new corn casserole was delicious also and will now go into the Thanksgiving meal repertoire! I think Landon will approve of this one too, once we’re able to gather in large groups again!
At any rate, my crafting time has been minimal the last few weeks between cattle and Thanksgiving. We finally bought the last of our cattle a week ago – our herd is now complete! Unfortunately, a few of them have started coughing so the round-up of the coughers ensued with treatment of antibiotics. There’re still a few looking a bit droopy today, so we’re keeping a close eye on them and will treat with antibiotics again if needed!
I decided to make “just one more curve” before I move onto some of the other new items in the upcoming catalog! Today’s card is a quick and easy Christmas card using the Christmas Curvy stamp set and Curvy dies. It also features the Classic Christmas DSP which is only orderable NOW during the pre-release, as is the Christmas Curvy stamp set! Neither of these items will be in the new catalog, or orderable, once the new catalog goes live on January 5! If you’re interested in either, order NOW while you can!
LET’S GET INKY!
Hello Friends!
I’m back today after a bit of a blogging pause due to increased activity on our ranch. It’s cattle-buying season and we’ve been busy going to auctions, hauling cattle home, and “working” them once they’ve had a couple days to settle in. What does “working” them mean, you may ask? Well, each calf we buy, we run through the “squeeze-shoot” and give each one a numbered ear tag, a series of vaccinations and wormer, antibiotics if they have any sign of cough or runny nose, and use a scalpel to turn any bulls into steers. It’s sometimes wild, always loud, and a very busy time for sure! I always sleep well after a day of working cattle, and I don’t even do the hard part! Dean does all the man-handling, I just draw-up the multiple injections, make sure the ear tag and back (think over-sized earring) is loaded in the “tagging pliers”, log the new ear tag number with the auction number/color of the animal and whether they got antibiotics; and hand Dean the scalpel and latex gloves when he hollers “BULL”.
I know it’s not for everyone, but I sure do enjoy ranch life! There’s just something about going out each day to feed and care for the animals, listening to the cattle “moo” , the horses “neigh”, the smells, the muck after a heavy rain, and getting the boots and jeans dirty. There are days in the middle of winter when it’s just downright cold and nasty outside that I think I’d rather snuggle up by the fire with some cardstock and rubberstamps, but once out there with the cows and horses, it’s all good again. And when the morning chores are done, I kick off my muddy barn boots (outside), hang my coat over a chair to dry, and cozy up to the fire to warm up. Life on the ranch is good!
But, back to why you’re here!
Did you know that the new “Spring” catalog will be out very shortly? Along with the January-February SALE-A-Bration catalog?
As a demonstrator, I have them in my hands already and because of my attendance at OnStage, (Stampin’ Up’s event for demonstrators only which was done virtually this year due to “the virus”), I was able to order a select number of products from the new catalog which I received a few days ago! While I can’t show you the inside pages of the catalogs yet, I can show you the covers of them! And, I’ll be sharing some of my new products with you soon!
For those who may not remember, SALE-A-Bration, it’s that time of year when, for every $50 or $100 you spend on Stampin’ Up product, you earn FREE products from the SALE-A-Bration catalog! There are multiple exclusive stamp sets and designer series papers (DSP) in the Sale-A-Bration catalog that you can get for FREE! Yes, I said FREE! Trust me, you’re going to want it ALL!
There’s so much crafting goodness between those covers, I just can’t wait to begin giving you glimpses of what’s in store!
The stamp set and dies I used for today’s card is in the new catalog and IS AVAILABLE TO ORDER NOW! That’s right, the new Quite Curvy stamp and die set can be ordered NOW! Just click here to go to my Stampin’ Up online store where you can get a better look at all this set has to offer! I must confess, it’s fast becoming a favorite of mine!
I know this card looks very similar to my last post. If you follow through my instructions on that last post, under “Let’s Get Inky!”, you’ll see that I forgot to take pictures of the process of putting together the front panel, so I made another one with a different DSP across the middle for “instructions” sake.
Today I used that panel to create this card using the same layout, just different stamps. I think I already mentioned this, but Quite Curvy is fast becoming my “go-to” stamping bundle!
So, here we go!
Hello Friends!
Are you ready for some fresh stampin’ inspiration? Get ready for Curvy Celebrations! It’s almost here…just a few more days!
In anticipation of the new January – June, 2021 Mini Catalog’s release on January 5, 2021, Stampin’ Up is offering an early release bundle from this catalog! It’s just in time for the holidays and the WHOLE variety bundle is only available during the pre-order period which begins on November 3 and runs through January 4!
The Quite Curvy Variety Bundle is shown below.
After January 4, you will no longer be able to get the Curvy Christmas stamp set, or the Classic Christmas DSP – these two items are EXCLUSIVE to the preorder period.
The Quite Curvy stamp set, which is very versatile for many occasions, and coordinating Curvy Dies, will continue and be in the new catalog.
Remember, if you order products in a bundle, you’ll save 10% off the purchase price!
The Curvy Christmas stamp set is fabulous for it’s country rustic images, but add in the Curvy Dies, and suddenly you’ve taken your project from cute, to WHOA-worthy!
Here’s an up-close look at the Classic Christmas 6″ x 6″ DSP. I’ll be using it in tomorrow’s blog post!
Just look at that curved border edge on my project today, and the curved sentiment that runs so perfectly along it! May I say, WHOA? I’m loving this set so far and can’t wait to share more of it with you! These dies make it sooo easy to dress up a card to FABULOUS, especially when paired with that gorgeous Brushed Metallic Cardstock!
My color choices were inspired by Color Throwdown Challenge 617 (#ctd617):
To get that chartreuse green, I had to pull out some retired SU cardstock, Lemon-Lime Twist. I also chose to use my Wink Of Stella glitter pen to jazz up my Lemon-Lime Twist sprigs!
So with no further ado:
Hello Friends!
I’m back with a quick card for the Fusion Card Challenge “Purple Night”.
This challenge is as below. One can use just the sketch for inspiration, just the picture, or both. I decided to go big or go home and went with both.
I bought the Camouflage background stamp several months ago, but had yet to use it. I decided it would be great for making a “spooky” purple background. I actually used three different stamp sets to achieve my final result.
I don’t think of the tree stamp in “Life Is Beautiful” as spooky, but given that it’s photopolymer, it’s easy to bend the stamp around a bit to give it more insidious look. And, of course, Festive Corners filled in for the rest of the “spooky” look!
Hello Friends!
I’m playing along with card challenges this week; this one from CASology with the theme “DRY”. As the name implies, “CAS” stands for Clean And Simple. This is hard for me, as I prefer using lots of layers, texture, and of course, bling! But, always up for a challenge, I decided to play along! (#CAS376)
Last night Dean and I took an evening hike up to our future cabin site (AKA Janet’s future stamp-camp site!). The crisp evening air, the changing color of the leaves, and the sunset were spectacular!
This is where Dean proposed to me 8 years ago, and whether it’s because of this, or just simply the beautiful scenery, or both, this spot elicits a magical feeling inside me. I can’t be in that spot and not wrap my arms around him and say….YES, YES, YES, a thousand times YES! I am so very blessed to love, and be loved by, him. We stayed up there and watched the sun set before we made our way back down the mountain in the dark.
And, oh my, after the sun set it got very cold! When we reached home, I made my way down to the barn and put blankets on my boys (horses), which they seemed to greatly appreciate judging by the snuggles I got! Yes, Fall is certainly here! And, our walk is where my inspiration for this challenge came from; lots of “dry” autumn leaves on the ground!
