Swirly, Hexy, Fun / NAC #82

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Hey y'all. Happy Tuesday. I hope wherever you are that you're warmer and drier than we are here in the DMV! It was sunny and 70 on Saturday and today, well, we're back to snow and freezing cold. AUGH! It's Tuesday, so that means another challenge with the Nachos. This week it's a color challenge and after I went for a walk in the sunshine Saturday, I went to my new craft room and got busy. I played around with a new technique and a fun new die. I'm not sure that I'm 100% thrilled with how it turned out, but I still think it's pretty. I'd love to hear what you think-

I tried the shaving-cream technique for the first time. I didn't look up the technique, just kinda winged it from memory, so I'm not sure if I did it right. I need to look it up and maybe try again. I think I had too much shaving cream. I ended up getting a really pretty marbled pattern after I pounced on it a little to get a bit more coverage. I mounted it beneath a piece of Whisper White c/s that I cut with my new Hives Die. Then I mounted those on a piece of Rose Red c/s, mounted on a Whisper White base. That Rose Red is such a pretty color, I  have no idea why I don't use it more often! I used the Six Sided Sampler for my sentiment and the stamped area beneath it.

Of course you know I had to try and do something pretty on the inside too. Well, I had plenty of ink swirled so I did a second piece of c/s and then ran it through the die also. This gave me some coordinating pieces for the inside and another cut piece for a future card. Here's my inside-

It really is a striking effect! I love the look it gives the inside, don't you? Well it only seemed fitting that as I was going out for my walk on Saturday afternoon, trying to decide what I was going to do with these colors that I saw this beautiful sight-

Cherry Blossoms, right outside my door! They were so pretty with their blend of of colors. I just didn't want to seem too predictable by going with flowers, so I swirled them instead. :)

Well, that's all I have for you today. I'd love to hear what you think about today's card. I hope you liked it and I hope it inspires you to come and play along with us. I can't wait to see what you create! As always, if you have any questions about today's card, please remember to leave me comment below and I'll be sure to get back to you.

Thanks so much for taking the time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about he storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe-
Shan Pin It

Halloween Treat Holder / NAC #58

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Hey y'all. Happy Tuesday! I hope you're having a good week so far and I'm so glad you took the time to stop by and see me today. :) It's Tuesday and you know I love them because I get to share a new challenge with you. This week's challenge, at Nacho Average Challenges, is a color challenge and even though I don't normally like those very much I was super excited about this week's combo. It's just in time for Halloween and I have a big team meeting coming up in 2 weeks and was looking for something to make. So if I'm ruing the surprise for any of you, sorry about that, just pretend to be surprised ok? I think this is also going to be my Halloween Treat for the people at work.  Here's this week's project-

How cute is this!?! And you are not going to believe how Super-Simple it was to make. Can you guess the colors? They are perfect for Halloween projects! Make sure to read on for tips on how to make this.

Even though I'm still not convinced about Summer Starfruit on its own, put it with certain colors and it's amazing!

I got to use my New Envelope Punch Board and I have to say I'm in LOVE!!! I literally made the envelope for this in about a minute. It uses a 5x5 piece of cardstock and you start at 2 inches for your first score. This size envelope is perfect for gift cards too, but unless it's a Serious amount on the gift card, I'm going to be just as happy with some Chocolate. I will say that I made a few of these before I decided on the final one above. 

Here's the first one-

Cute, but it still needed a little something. So after a few tries with different embossing folders and glitters I ended up with the Polka Dot EF. It gave it a little something without being too much. I put the envelope folded up in the EF and ran it through my Big-Shot and it embossed everything. I was afraid it wouldn't work but it did. Make sure that you stamp and glitter your images first though or you won't get good coverage when you stamp. The spiders are from the new PhotoPolymer set Bite Me. Love that Name! I stamped them with VersaMark and then used our Heat and Stick powder and  new Black glitter. The Striped paper is from our New Halloween Witches Brew DSP and it's Tombowed on to my envelope. I colored the Trick or Treat tag from Tags 4 You in with my Stampin' Write Markers and punched it out with my new Label Bracket Punch and popped it up with a Dimensional. I got the stamp set Free at Convention and it has 5 stamps that you can use from Fall through Valentine's Day.

Well that's all I have for you today, I sure hope you liked today's project and I hope it inspires you to play along with the Nacho's and to get busy on your gift holders for the upcoming holidays. If you have any questions about today's project, be sure to leave me a message below and I'll be sure to get back to you.

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated. Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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The Perfect Blend /NAC # 54

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Hey y'all. Happy Tuesday! I hope you had a good weekend, and that you're having a great week so far. :)

I don't know about you but I'm always so excited when Tuesday's come around because it means we have an all new challenge at Nacho Average Challenges. This week it's all about Color. Now if you're new to my blog, these are my least favorite challenges... there's just sooo many possibilities! However, I'm pretty excited with how today's card turned out. I kept it pretty clean and simple, well at least for me that is. There's not even a dimensional or a speck of glitter to be found anywhere, and here it is-

Here's the Color Challenge we have for you-

Great colors, don't you think? I started with a base of Soft Suede cut at 4 1/4 x 11 scored @ 5 1/2. I used my Stripes Embossing Folder and Big Shot to create the plaid design with the Pear Pizzazz and Island Indigo colors on a scrap of Very Vanilla c/s. The best way to do this is to use your Brayer to add your ink to your folder. Note I said the "best way." Yep, guess who couldn't find her brayer in all the packed supplies? I had to apply my ink directly from my pad to my folder. That kept my color from being applied evenly, which probably wouldn't have bothered too many people, but did you notice the title of my blog? Obsessive-Compulsive. However, I'm going to go with the fact that most plaids are not uniform in color... that's my story and I'm sticking with it. I mounted my new plaid background on a piece of Pear Pizzazz c/s. I actually think this could also be a really feminine card as well with a lighter base, but since I couldn't find my brayer, it was just taking a little more time than I had to give with the move prep to try and make a second "feminine" version. Perhaps once the move is finished. Oh and in case you were wondering, I inked the word Coffee up with my Soft Suede Stampin' Write Marker and used my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig so I could stamp it 3 times on the label.

Most of you know I love pretty insides, so you know I had to do something there too, right? Here's what I came up with-

If you had told me I would ever have liked a set with the word "Grunge" in it, I would have told you that you were crazy! Even when we found out we were getting the Gorgeous Grunge set as one of our Free Convention Sets, I wasn't quite convinced about it, but I have to say, I'm a Believer! It was perfect for the coffee splatters here. :)  And, how about that coffee cup ring? I used the lid to one of my embossing powders? I don't remember who I first saw that trick with, I think it was Ms. Lee Conroy, but how  great is it with this set!?!

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope you liked my card and I sure hope you'll come play with us and give this week's challenge a try. I can't wait to see what you come up with! If you have questions about today's card, leave me a comment below and I'll be sure to get back to you.

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated. Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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Happy Birthday Nacho / NAC #52 / PPA 161

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Hey y'all. Happy Tuesday! I hope your week has started out wonderfully.

It has been a rough few days for me with the loss of a friend and Hero. Many of you know I used to work as the Chief Nurse for the DEA-Drug Enforcement Administration. This was my All-Time Favorite job. While there I got to meet the most Amazing people. One of them was James "Terry' Watson. He was killed in a robbery attempt in Bogota, Colombia last week and he will be laid to rest tomorrow morning. I haven't made a card to post in memory of him yet because it has simply been too hard to contemplate this loss for any length of time. I am, however, pleased to say they have captured a 5th person in connection with his vicious attack and murder. The world lost a truly wonderful person and prayers for not only his physical family but his DEA and Law Enforcement Family will surely be appreciated.

That being said, I was really needing something bright and cheery. Tonight's card is just the ticket. It's hard to believe it's been a year since my blog-pal Tammy Fite and members of her team started Nacho Average Challenge. I have played along with all but a few of the challenges including the dreaded Color Challenges. :) When I saw this week's challenge I was so excited to see what I could come up with even though it was a color challenge. I rarely check out the DT's creations because I don't want to be influenced by them. I'm glad I did tonight though, because Tammy used one of my favorite sets and one I would have liked to use. Instead of using an old favorite I went with New favorites. In fact, everything I used tonight was if not technically "new" at least new to me. I'm sad to say some of these products have been waiting to be used for months. :( But, I think it was worth the wait and I hope the Fabulous ladies over at NAC do, and I hope you do too.  Here's my Happy Birthday Wish to the Nachos-

I'm so happy with this card. It just makes me smile.

Here's a closer look at my fun new products-

Honeycomb E.F., Pool Party Core-Dinations Paper,
Sketched Birthday and Delightful Dozen

Here's the challenge I was working with-

I seriously love this color combo. I have ideas for other cards using it. The only reason I didn't keep creating tonight was it's late. Oh well, the week is early. I also used this sketch from Pals Paper Arts-

I was sad to hear that the Nacho's are taking the summer off, but I'm hoping to meet up with them at Convention in less than a month. Woo-Hoo. You know what? They're going to be looking for some New Design Team Members when they start back up in September. Why don't you check them out, and play along. You might just be a Nacho Average Design Team Member. :)

In case my card wasn't enough to make you smile, here's a picture of my little Nacho. 

Bet you're smiling now  :)  Love this Girl!

Well, that's all I have for you today. Hope you liked my card and hope it inspires you to play with some  of your new or newer goodies. If you liked today's card or have questions about it, I hope you'll leave me a message below. I love hearing from you and your comments make my day. Friends and Followers are always welcome too. :) Don't forget to check out all the great entries at today's two challenges and play along too. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Thanks so much for taking time out of your day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated. Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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Tape It for NAC #51

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Hey y'all. Happy Saturday! I hope you're having a great weekend. It's Saturday night and because I'm a slacker that means it's time for another Nacho Average Challenge card. I miss the days when I got to stamp and blog every day.  Today's card has lots of new products to show you, hope you enjoy. Here's this week's NAC challenge card-

I have to say that I'm so happy with how this turned out! Everything is new with the exception of the Whisper White cardstock and the Stripes E.F. Aren't the colors Yummy!?! They're the new 2013-2015 In-Colors. I started with a base of Coastal Cabana. I then created the banners using the other colors- Baked brown Sugar, Crisp Cantaloupe, Strawberry Slush and Pistachio Pudding. Most of you know I hate mixing and matching colors and patterns because I never feel like I do a good job of it. I really stepped out of my comfort zone for today's card and I'm glad I did. :) The patterns on the banners are from the stamp set Tape It. They look like Washi Tape, you just can't tell on here because I flagged the ends. This set was on my must have list and in my first catalog order. Love it!!! The greeting is from the Really Good Greetings set. I am loving all the good sentiment stamps in this year's catalog. How about that ribbon? It soft and stretchy and just all around fabulous. I saw it at this year's Baltimore Regional and new I was going to be getting all of them.

Here's the sketch I was working with-

I changed it up just a little. What a great sketch though. I know I will definitely be using it again and soon. You know I like to have pretty insides too so here's what I came up with-

I stamped my sentiment from Oh Hello in Coastal Cabana onto a piece of Whisper White c/s that I ran through the Big Shot with my New Deco Labels Framelets and my new Magnetic platform. How inspired is that Magnetic Platform? Uh, the answer to that would be, So Inspired!!! I stamped a different pattern from the Tape It set and used those pieces to "tape down" my cut-out piece. Two WOW little factoids for those of you that know me- 1- I stamped my sentiment after I ran the c/s through the Big Shot and I did it without using my S-A-M-J. 2- As hard as it was for me I didn't obsess about the "tape" being in exactly the same place on all 4 corners. I know you're now asking yourself if I really made this card, but I did. :) Baby Steps...

I forgot to add a picture of my sweet little Nacho last week so I've got something a little different this week. I don't know if you watched The Voice this season or not but I was so excited to see little Danielle Bradberry win! Someone else found their voice this week, 3 guesses who and the first 2 don't count. My little Nacho discovered her voice this week and she's telling all sorts of stories to anyone who'll listen. That is except to me when we Face-Time. Silly girl just sits there and smiles and tries to grab me and then cries when I sign off. Lucky for me her sweet momma got some video for me or I wouldn't believe it. Here she is-

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope you liked my card and that it inspires you to let loose and have some fun. If you liked today's card or have questions, I hope you'll leave me a comment below. I love hearing from you and your comments really so make my day. If you'd like to +1 or Pin it, I've put those buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too!

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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By the Tide / NAC #29 / My Challenge #56

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Hey y'all. Hope you're having a good day and week. We're waiting on some yucky snow here in the DMV. Augh! Today's card reminds of the Ocean and home, a nice warm place. I have a friend at work who's getting ready to go on vacation and he was the recipient of this. He had some very pretty paintings in his office painted by a friend of his and he liked his card so much he said he's going to frame it. *Happy Dance* Here's today's card, I hope you like it too!

1 Layer card featuring By the Tide and
 Masking and Reverse Masking Techniques.

For those of you that know me, Yes, you're seeing this correctly. It's a 1-Layer card. I know it's card to believe, but it is. I actually surprised myself with this one. Here's the sketch I was working with-

When I saw the sketch and started trying to decide what I wanted to create with it, the rounded edges reminded me of our new Ovals Framelets. I decided to see what I could come up with and the card just evolved from there. As soon as I saw the By the Tide set in the new Occasions Catalog I knew I had to have it and I was so excited to be able to get it out and ink it up. Today's sketch comes from the Nacho Average Challenge site. I love those ladies! There's still time to play along with this week's sketch so don't forget to get out your paper and stamps and play along with us. :) Here's a closer look-

I started with a base of Whisper White. It was cut at 4 1/4 x 11 and scored and folded at 5 1/2. Before I started with my inks I took my new Ovals Framelets and cut two ovals using the 3rd and 4th framelets from the center. Once I had those cut I had my masks. I used Dotto Temporary Adhesive to hold my c/s pieces in place. In the open center area I stamped the coral piece with Calypso Coral and VersaMark and then heat embossed it with Clear Embossing Powder. I then stamped the seahorse in Soft Suede and VersaMark and heat embossed it with Clear Embossing Powder. Next I sponged the background with Pool Party Classic Ink. Using my Blender Pen, I then went back in and lightly added some more color to my little seahorse. Then using the cut-out center piece as a mask, I sponged Island Indigo to form the darker frame. This reminds of looking out of a port-hole even though it's oval and not round. What made me really happy, is my friend said that's what it reminded him of too. (without me mentioning it) I felt like it still needed a little something and so I sponged the edges of my card base in Island Indigo too and the front was done. Yea!

Here's a look at the inside-

The sentiment is from Friendly Phrases and is stamped in Island Indigo. The shell was stamped in Pretty in Pink and then very lightly colored in with Blender Pen in the same color.  A little love from Tink, and a little sponging around the edges and my card was done. Here's a closer look-

I was soooo upset by the little edge I caught but hoped the shimmer and shine would help detract from that. Wow, but it looks really big when you do a close-up and then enlarge it. Thank goodness it wasn't that noticeable IRL or it wouldn't have made it. Luckily, my friend will be showing the outside and not the inside. Sometimes I have to remind myself that my cards are unique and I am much more critical of them than anyone else ever would be. I remember a time when I would have thrown the whole card away. Other than that little spot though, I was so happy with the card, and it would have really hurt my feelings to get rid of it.

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope you liked it and I hope the fabulous ladies over at NAC like it too! Don't forget to check them out. They have an Amazing DT and always have great samples. If you liked today's card or have questions about it, I hope you'll take a moment to leave me a message in the space below. I love hearing from you and your comments really do make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin today's card, I've put those buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan


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Cracked Glass - End of the week Technique # 61 / NAC #28 / My Challenge #55

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Hey y'all! Happy Saturday! I hope you're having a great weekend so far. I've got a new technique for you tonight. Ok, so not a "new" technique but new for me and this blog. Many of you know I haven't been able to post 5+ times a week since I started my new job. This has impacted my ability to do a lot of my specialty posts. I will still be doing my "End of the Week Techniques", I just will likely not be doing one each week. To be honest I had planned on decreasing the weekly techniques anyways, not because there are not enough techniques but because I was finding it stressful to try and find one to do each week that fit in with the kind of cards I was doing for the week. One of my goals for last year was to do one technique a week and I surpassed that so I feel very good about that. I hope you have enjoyed them and hopefully found some inspiration with them. I hope you will continue to find inspiration with the ones that I post this year. I will continue to do tutorials whenever I do a new one here and will try and remember to link back to old ones when I repeat a technique. That being said, I've been wanting to try this one for almost a year and finally I've managed to get it done. Here's this week's technique card-

What do you think? If you know me or have followed me for any time you are probably checking to make sure you're really looking at my blog, or rubbing your eyes to see if you're seeing correctly. This is so not my style. Not only is it Vintage-y but there's torn and crumpled c/s. Will miracles never cease? I kinda took my inspiration from the technique & the rest kinda followed. I still can't believe I did this card. I'm not sure it's gonna make the All-Time favorite list but it definitely makes the list for making me step out of my comfort zone.

This card is for this week's Nacho Average Challenge. Love those ladies! I try not to look at the DT creations before I make my card, because I don't want to be influenced by them but this week I was going through my regular reader feed and came across Tammy's card and was really glad I accidentally saw it. When I first saw the challenge, Elements of Style came to mind and that's what she used. So I had a double challenge, one for the color challenge (you know those are soooo hard for me) and one to use something besides Elements of style. I really don't know why Tammy couldn't have just made some Lucky Limeade Snowflakes. If anyone could get away with it she could. (If you know her, you'll understand that comment. Hi Tammy!) Here's what I was working with this week-

I started with a base of Island Indigo c/s. To this I added a piece of Whisper White c/s that I stamped my En-Francais Background stamp in Marina Mist. You know I wouldn't normally age c/s like I did but a crisp clean image just didn't seem to go with my focal point. Also even though my focal point was done on a piece of W.W. c/s it no longer looked white after my technique, but it didn't quite look Very Vanilla either. I originally stamped the background stamp full strength but it was too dark so I tried again, stamping off once and liked that much better. I crumpled my c/s (ooooooooohhhhhh you know I hated that right?) then I sponged Crumb Cake over it to make the crinkles show up more. It still seemed like it needed something else so I did the almost un-think-able and tore my c/s. *Shudder* Yes, I said I tore it. But only because there wasn't any of my stamping friends nearby to do it for me. My stamping buddies will totally get that. (shout out to the Fabulous Michelle Suit and April Sinclair) Once those two things were done I sponged the edges with Soft Suede and  Tombowed this layer down. I finally felt like I had a nice background for my focal point. Here's a closer look at this weeks technique and today's focal point-

I used the floral Image from the You are Loved set. I used the three challenge colors to color my stamp and then rotating the image kept stamping it until I had my c/s filled. I roughed up the edges before doing my technique and then mounted it on a strip of Island Indigo that I embossed one edge with my Fancy Fan E.F.-

I thought the scalloped image mimicked the scalloped edges of the petals. The floral strip was adhered to the I.I. piece with multiple Dimensionals since it was so heavy. This entire panel was adhered to the card base with Tombow. The sentiment was stamped in I.I. on W.W., punched with my Oval Punch and then adhered to a scrap of I.I. that I punched with my Scalloped Oval Punch. I stacked two Dimensionals under the Right edge to raise it up and make it level and my card front was done. Whew! It was a lot but in the end I think it was worth it.

Here's the inside-

The sentiment is from the same set and is stamped in I.I. Since the front was so involved, I tried to keep the inside a little less..., I don't know, just less. Of course you know that doesn't mean it shouldn't be pretty so here's a closer look at my little bit of pretty-

I wish you could see how pretty and sparkly this is in person. It just sparkles and shines. Sooooo pretty! So what do you think? I hope you like it and I really hope those fabulous ladies over at NAC like it too.

Now for this week's technique-

Here's what you need for the Cracked Glass Technique-
Cardstock, (I think Whisper White or Very Vanilla would probably work the best but who knows maybe a light color would work too), Stamped Image of your choice, VersaMark Pad, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, and a brown color to "Antique" your image and enhance the cracked areas (I used Soft Suede).

Here's how you do it-
1- Stamp your image onto your c/s.
2- Take your VersaMark Pad and "stamp" it all over your stamped piece of c/s until it is completely covered.
3- Apply your Clear Embossing Powder over entire surface and using your Heat Tool, heat the entire c/s until all of your embossing powder is heated and glossy. Allow this to cool.
4- Reapply VersaMark to the entire embossed surface and cover once more in Clear Embossing Powder. Heat again and allow to cool completely.
5- Repeat step 4 at least once more. You could even repeat it 2 times more if you wanted. Make sure to allow it to cool completely in between applications. This is a good time to work on the rest of your card.
6- Allow your piece to cool completely. If you're impatient you could put it in the freezer for just a few minutes.
7- Bend your embossed c/s in multiple places and going in multiple directions. This bending action will cause the glass like coating to crack. Continue doing this until you get the desired look.
8- Take a brown color of your choice, I used Soft Suede but a darker color like Early Espresso or Chocolate Chip would probably work well too, and sponge it over the entire surface using a circular motion. This will help to get the color into the cracked areas. You can even bend the c/s slightly and sponge to really get in the cracked areas.
9- Take a paper towel or old cloth and wipe over the surface. This will remove the color from the surface and will just leave it in the cracked areas. Such a cool effect! Here's another look-

 10- Smile when you see what you have created and smile even more when you think about the smile that it will bring to it's recipient. I really do love that part!

Well, that's all I have for you tonight. I hope you liked the techniques and the card. I really hope it inspires you to try something new! If you liked today's card/technique or have questions about it, I hope you'll leave me a comment below. I love hearing from you and your comments really do make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin it, I've put those buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan

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Oh Hello - NAC #27 / My Challenge #54

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Hey y'all. Hope you're having a fabulous weekend. I don't know about you but these short weeks really throw me for a loop. It just doesn't seem like Saturday although I did really enjoy sleeping in today! I was cleaning up around the house when I realized I still needed to make my card and post it for this week's Nacho Average Challenge. ACK!!!! Good news is I knew exactly what I wanted to make so I got right to it. Even better news is that it turned out just like I had envisioned it. It seems like lately that hasn't been happening a lot so I was pretty excited about this. I couldn't miss posting because I haven't missed one of their challenges yet. Hard to believe they're on #27 already! If you haven't joined in on one of their challenges, hop on over and check them out and then make sure to follow them so you get their challenges each week. They have some Amazingly talented ladies on their DT. I love seeing what they've created each week and they always leave the nicest comments. Don't forget to check them out, just finish here first ok. :)

Here's my card for this week's challenge-

What do you think? C&S is definitely not my norm, but that's one reason I love doing challenges so much. They can really force you to step out of your comfort zone. If you noticed the title of today's challenge I have decided to keep doing at least one challenge each week. That was something I challenged myself to last year and I'm going to continue with it this year as well.

Here's the sketch I was working with-

My only alteration to the layout was to add an additional layer. This card is still really flat and, believe it or not, no Dimensionals were used in the making of this card. If you know me, you know that's very unusual. This would mail really easily and probably without any additional charges.

I started with a base of So Saffron. My color palate was inspired from the DSP I was working with. It's from our new Tea Time Collection and it's Fabulous! I can't wait to make more cards with this collection. I added a layer of Whisper White c/s that I ran through the Big Shot with my Perfect Polka Dot E.F. and Tombowed a 2 x 4 piece of the DSP onto this. I added some Baja Breeze Seam Binding to cover the seam and then added a bow which I secured with a Mini-Glue Dot. I actually adhered the back of my tag, which I hand cut, to my DSP so it won't go anywhere. Here's a closer look at my tag. Are you wondering why it just says "Oh"-

Because the rest of the sentiment is on the inside. I thought that added a little extra interest to the card front. This is from the Oh Hello stamp set that's new in our Spring Catalog. Love that set. I always think they can't make me want it all and then I almost always do! The words were masked and then inked with a Marina Mist Stampin Write Marker.

Here's the inside-

I almost never leave the inside without a sentiment, but I was kind of in a "Note-card" kind of mood and thought I would leave the inside blank so there would be plenty of room to write. Of course just because there's no sentiment doesn't mean it has to be plain. You know I like to have pretty insides so I stamped the flower from the same set. I colored the stamp in with Marina Mist and Wild Wasabi markers and then used my Blender Pens and Baja Breeze and Certainly Celery ink pads to finish the coloring. A little love from Tink and my card was finished. Here's a closer look-

It's so pretty and shimmery in person.

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope you liked it and I hope it inspires you to create something new and fun and maybe a little out of your comfort zone. If you liked today's card or have questions about it I hope you'll take a moment to leave me a comment below. I love hearing from you and your comments really make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin today's card I've put those buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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Not What I Planned / NAC #26 / My Challenge # 53

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Hey y'all. I've got a new challenge card for you tonight and as much trouble as it was to get it done, I'm really happy with how it turned out and I hope you will be too.

Do you ever plan on things going one way and even though you start out that way you end up with something else? Yeah, well that seems to happen to me fairly frequently, but boy did it happen in a Major way today. There's one thing I've always tried to be on this blog and that's just honest. I started this blog to make myself step out and try new things to not be a "Scaredy Cat". Because I hope that at least every once in a while I inspire someone who might be starting out or struggling with some of the same confidence and or creative issues I struggle with, I try to keep it real here. As much as I hate to show items that I feel aren't "just right" or "fabulous", I know that all my creations can't be that way. I often struggle with the fact that cards or projects I see on other blogs always seem to be that way, so why can't mine. Are you wondering where I'm going with this? I started today's card with an idea in my head. I could see just how my card was going to be and it was going to be pretty nice. I started it and I was excited by how it was going and then it went down-hill in a major way. Because I'm all about showing you that I'm just a normal stamper like many of you out there, I will show you my "horrible mess" but not at the beginning of my post. I'm afraid if someone was "hopping" through bloglandia and saw it first they might never come back. It will be at the end of this post so I hope you will hang around long enough to see it.

Today's post is from the Fabulous ladies over at Nacho Average Challenge and it's a color challenge. I really try not to dislike color challenges but they really do stump me a lot of the time. After my first idea tanked I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to come up with something acceptable. However I haven't missed one of their challenges yet, so I was determined to rise to the challenge. Here's my card-

Thank You Card featuring
Build A Blossom Stamp Set and Punch and
Blooming with Kindness Stamp Set

What do you think? It's way off from my normal style, even though I couldn't tell you what my normal style is. LOL! I'm still really happy with it though. BTW- do you know how hard it is to type when your studio assistant is on your lap and draped over your hand?

Here's the Color Challenge I was working with tonight-

I used Soft Suede as my card base and also used it to lightly sponge over my embossed frame. I used a dauber instead of a sponge to better control the placement of my color over my Tulip Border. This was created using my Tulip Frame E.F. which I haven't used in way too long. I used a Whisper White piece of c/s for the center panel. The sentiment is from Blooming with Kindness and is also stamped in S.S.

Here's a closer look at my focal point-

This is the first time I've used the Build A Blossom stamp set. It had been on my wish-list for a while and even though I try to use my new stamps as soon as I get them, this one has been sitting for a while. I stamped both of the petal images in Perfect Plum and then used the coordinating punch to punch them out.
***Tip***- When punching these petals out, stamp and punch from L-R since the "Petal" portion of the stamp is on the left hand side of the punch. This will help to minimize your wasted c/s. Although I love that most of the images can be punched with one punch it can also be a very wasteful punch. This is a great punch to use with your c/s scraps. :)

After stamping 5 of the solid petals (on the bottom) and five of the not-so-solid (sorry I didn't know what else to call them) ones I used my Paper Piercer to punch a small hole in the base of each one.  Before I put them together I used my bone-folder to curve the bottom petals down and the top petals up. This really adds a lot of dimension to the flower. I felt like it still needed something so I let Tink have some fun with the top petals before using a mini-brad to hold them all together. I hid the brad under the center piece which I also let Tink play with. This was popped up with a Dimensional. One Dimensional over the "legs" of the brad secures the flower to the center panel. My leaves were stamped in Old Olive and were secured with little pieces of Dimensionals from the sides of the packs.

Here's the inside-

I used another sentiment from the Blooming with Kindness set and because I had to have something pretty for the inside I used a flower from the Everything Eleanor set. I think it coordinates nicely with  the flower from the front. A little love from Tink and my card was done-

So what do you think? I know just who this card is going to and I really hope she likes it! I hope you and the fabulous ladies at NAC like it too.

So now for my FAIL. There's a new stamp set in our Sale-A-Bration Catalog that I just had to have. It has a Ferris Wheel on it and my idea was to water-color the background in the Old Olive for the grass and shades of Perfect Plum for an evening sky. I'm not the best at water-coloring which is why you don't see that much of it here on my blog. But I have to say I was happy with how it turned out. I inked up my Ferris Wheel in Versa-Mark and Soft Suede (I wanted to clear emboss it so it would stand out a little more since it's a softer color than say Early Espresso). Great idea, not so great results- Please be warned ahead of time that it's pretty awful-

Epic Fail! But see, the background looked nice. I tried it again with just the stamp-

I think it was the fact that I was stamping on the Water-Color Paper. because I got a much crisper image on my grid paper. Oh well, all things being what they are, at least I tried something new and you can see that we all have our cards that don't turn out right even if we rarely see them out in bloglandia.

And because I couldn't let those awful pics be the last thing you remember about my blog here's another picture of my studio assistant Duecey, being a blanket assistant too as I was working on Tooey's baby blanket-

My sweet boy!

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope you liked it and I hope it inspires you to try something new today...even if it doesn't work out. you know the motto of this blog is to "Just Try". If you liked today's card or have questions about it I hope you'll take a moment to leave me a comet below. I love hearing from you and your comments really do make my day. If you'd like to +1 or Pin it (the good card not the fail, please) I've put those buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. you are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the Rain. 

Be Safe,
Shan

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Snowman Tic-Tac Holders / Secret Santa Ideas End of the Week Technique # 59

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Hey y'all. Just a quick post tonight. I'm a week behind on my EWT's so I'm throwing an extra one in. These Tic-Tac Holders are all over the place but of course when I went to look up directions I saw a few different ones that I liked, with different measurements & different decorations so I just kind combined to make my own.

We're doing a 12 Days of Christmas/Secret Santa gift exchange at my work and I though this would be a nice little stocking stuffer. I'm happy to say I've also done a few other projects that I will be posting soon with  tutorials too.

Here's today's project-

Ok, so I'm a little disappointed that the picture came out so washed out, but you can get the idea and unfortunately, I'm too tired to get back up and take some more. :( Sorry.

Here's what you need for this project- Cardstock in your choice of colors. I used Bashful Blue and Whisper White, Ribbon- I used our stitched ribbon in White. Circle Punches in the following sizes- 1 1/4, 1, and 3/4. Corner Rounder Punch, Perfect Polka Dots E. F., Big Shot, Stamp Set of your choice for the background, Pumpkin Pie Stampin Write Marker, Pearls and Black Sharpie Marker. Oh and of course a pack of Tic-Tacs. :)

Here's how you make your project-
1- I Started with a base of Bashful Blue Cardstock cut to 3 x 4 7/16 and rounded the edges. I know this is an odd measurement but I took one that was from another blog and when I scored it, the front & back weren't even (so you know the OCD in me made me change it). Score this at 1 15/16 & 2 13/16.
2- Cut your Whisper White c/s at 1 3/4 x 2 13/16 and round two edges.
3- Stamp your background. I chose to use the smallest snowflake from the Snowflake Soiree set. I stamped it in Marina Mist 3 times full strength and 3 times stamping off once.
4- Adhere the ribbon to your base. I did this 2 different ways, once under my W.W. piece and once over it (simply because I had already adhered my W.W. c/s to my base. Adhering it under your W.W. piece is much easier.
5- Adhere your W.W. c/s and then using your 1 1/4 Circle punch, punch your circle near the bottom of your W.W. piece.
6- Punch a 1" circle from a scrap piece of c W.W. c/s and run it through your Big Shot in your Perfect Polka Dot E.F. Adhere this to your c/s, slightly overlapping your punched c.s base. Add 3 medium pearls to this for buttons. You can color them with a black Sharpie while they are still on the adhesive page.
7- Punch a 3/4" W.W. Circle from scrap c/s. Color the small pearls that are attached in a row for the eyes and mouth and once they are dry, attach them to this piece. Using your Pumpkin Pie Marker draw a little triangle for the carrot nose. This piece gets attached with a Dimensional.
8- Apply a line of Sticky Strip in the middle of your two score lines and use this to attach the c/s to your Tic-Tac container. and tie your ribbon in a bow or knot.
9- Smile when you see your finished product and smile even bigger when you think of the joy it will bring it's recipient. :) That part just never gets old!

That's all I have for you tonight. I hope you like it and I hope it inspires you to try something new. This is a quick and easy project that is sure to bring a smile to someone's face. It's also quick to make and you could easily make a large batch for your office friends in no time at all. If you like today's project or have questions about it, I hope you'll take a moment to leave me a comment in the space below. I love hearing from you and your comments really do make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin it, I've put those buttons on my b log for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the Storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan

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Glitter Window Ornament - End of the Week Technique #58 / NAC #24 / My Challenge #51

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Hey y'all. I hope you're having a great weekend. I've got a pretty new card and a new EWT for you today. (And an "Ask me how I know") I don't know about you, but I still find one of my biggest problems with making cards is that I over-think things. Sometimes the simplest concepts seem to take me the longest to actually make happen. That's what happened with tonight's card. I had the concept and thought it would just "happen"....yeah, that happened. NOT! But at any rate, here's my card-

 I did today's card for the weekly challenge over at Nacho Average Challenge. Please make sure you go by and check them out. They have great challenges each week. This week is a color challenge. Normally, color challenges really give me grief, but this concept actually came to me pretty quick. :) Here's the color challenge for this week-

I used Silver instead of gray and combined it with a new technique. I'll tell you about that further down in the post. Here's the inside of my card-

I couldn't find my stand..sorry about the attractive bone folder in the picture

I used my Keepsake Ornaments stamp set and Holiday Ornaments Framelets to make this card along with Greeting of the Season for the sentiment. I also used the Lacey Brocade E.F. to add a little interest to the front of my card.

What do you think? I hope you like it and I hope the fabulous ladies over at NAC do too! Now for this week's End of the Week Technique, The Glitter Window. I haven't done any of these before and of course I had to make it a little more complicated than it needed to be, But I'll give you the down dirty and easier version of it. Lol.

Here's what you need- Stamp Set of your choice (I used Keepsake Ornaments), I also used the Ornaments framelets however depending on your choice of stamps and designs you could also use a favorite punch, and some Glitter Paper ( I used SU Silver), and Mini-Glue Dots.

Here's what you do-

1- Stamp your image and then cut it out with either your punch or framelet.

2- Cut out the image on the front of your card using your coordinating framelet or punch. The framelets make this really easy because you're not limited in where you want to place your image.

***TIP*** If you want to have the front of your card embossed, like mine is, don't emboss it before cutting out your shape. If you use framelets you will flattened out (un-evenly too) your embossing. Ask me how I know. Yep, I did it and since I keep it honest with you guys, here's what it looked like-

3- Now for the glitter part- Cut out some glitter paper to accent your cut out image. I used my Scalloped Ribbon Punch to cut out mine. You're actually getting 2 Tutorials because I'm going to show you how I did this. I wanted to make sure the glitter paper followed the curved outline of the stamp so here's what I did. 

3a- I stamped the image on the back of my glitter paper-

This way I could see the curve to trim it instead of just having a straight edge (You know I couldn't just keep it simple, right?)

3-b I attached this to a piece of a Post-It note so I could slide it into my punch-

3-c  I just punched it out like normal-

4- Attach your Glittered Cut out image to your stamped image with Some Mini-Glue Dots. Glue Dots are really important to make sure the Glitter Paper sticks to your stamped image.

I also cut a piece of Glitter Paper with my framelet for the "cap" for my ornament. :)

5- Take your stamped image and attach it to the inside of your card by placing it through the cut image you made in step #2 above. Here's another look at the finished product-

That's all you need to do for this week's technique. I hope you liked my card and I hope it inspires you to try something new. I love hearing from you, so if you liked today's card or have questions about it, I hope you'll take just a moment to leave me a comment in the space below. I read all of your comments and they really do make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin today's card, I've put those buttons on my blog for your convenience as well. Friends and Followers are always welcome too!

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, But Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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