Sneak Peek- Embossed Betsy's Blossoms / Freshly Made Sketches #36

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Hey y'all. Happy Thursday! Just one more day until the long weekend. Woo-Hoo! Do you have any fun plans? I'm having an Open House, Friday, Saturday and Sunday to celebrate our New Catalog. I'm also going to be featuring Scentsy Home Products and the delish New Velata Premium Chocolate Fondue. So if you're in the Metro DMV and want to come by and make a project with new product, smell some great scents and enjoy yummy snacks, hit me up..I'd love to see you!

I know the plan had been to do my EWT today....best laid plans and all that. I saw a sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and just had to play along, (and wanted to go ahead and be able to post ) so this weeks EWT will come tomorrow.

Can you believe 3 challenges this week? It's been a while since I did that. :) However when I saw this sketch I knew exactly what I wanted to do. So rare for that to happen, so when it does it just doesn't make sense to not go with it! I'm using this for my Clean and Simple card of the week because even though it has a lot of embossing and sponging, the overall look is Clean and Simple. The C&S card I had planned for today will simply get moved to next week.(Whew now the stress is off for me to do another in the C&S style! Score!!!)

I hope you're not getting tired of Betsy's Blossoms because I am so loving it! Here's today's card-

C&S Betsy's Blossoms with Embossing, Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #36

Although I knew what I wanted to do with this sketch this is not the first color combo I planned on. I haven't decided how I feel about our New In-Color Summer Starfruit. I think it's the "Peach Parfait" of the 21012-2014 Collection. (You know what I mean, you know you do.) I had the card-base cut, scored and folded and just couldn't do it with this card. I think once I get some DSP that coordinates with it, maybe I'll have better luck. I am, however, loving this New Midnight Muse!

Here's the sketch I used-

My goal with this card was, even though it was such a great clean and simple sketch, to add a surprise to take it up a notch. I stayed true to the layout only flipping the orientation. I made the sky by sponging Bashful Blue over the edge of a scrap piece of c/s I punched out with my Large Scalloped Circle Punch. I did this multiple times and then went back and lightly rubbed the sponge all over the piece to give a "soft, airy" appearance and to ensure there were no harsh lines. I think this really helps to make my embossed images stand out.

Here's a close-up look-

Embossed Betsy's Blossoms

It was really hard to capture the embossing , but I think this few gives you a little glimpse. I used Midnight Muse, Primrose Petals, Marina Mist and Gumball Green and heat embossed them with Clear Embossing Powder. In person the embossing just "pops" out at you. It's really so striking and you just want to rub your hands over it to feel the texture, especially on the sweet little bird and middle blossom. I used my 1 1/4 square punch to punch out my elements after embossing and then sponged the edges with the matching color. The 3 squares are adhered with Tombow. The center panel is elevated with dimensionals.

Here's the inside-

I stamped the sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes in Midnight Muse. Next I masked the bottom of my card with post-it notes so I could be sure to get a straight line. I then stamped my two floral images from the Betsy's Blossoms stamp set in an alternating, random style, flowing pattern. I used Primrose Petals for the smaller flower and Raspberry Ripple for the larger one, stamping off once to get a softer look. A little visit from Tink gives it just a little sparkle and means the inside of my card has a pretty little surprise for it's recipient.

I'm so happy with how today's card turned out. I hope the fabulous ladies over at Freshly Made Sketches like it and that you do too! If you haven't checked them out yet,make sure you do. Their DT does Amazing work and the sketches are always fabuous!

If you liked today's card, feel free to leave me a comment. I love hearing from you and getting your input. If you liked it and would like to +1 or Pin it, I've put the buttons on my sidebar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too. :)

I hope you'll come back tomorrow for my Surprise End of the Week Technique. Thanks for stopping by and sharing my creative journey with me!

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 storm to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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Open Seas and FMS #23 / My Challenge # 10

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Hey y'all. Happy Tuesday. I hope you're having a great day, and a great week so far. Just got back from the doctor and am officially on the mend. My oxygen saturation is up to a whopping 98%. Woo-Hoo! Never thought I'd be happy about 98%. Still short of breath on exertion but getting better.

Funny story- my first day of clinicals as a nursing student I had a patient with Dementia, very aggressive, verbally and physically. Not a very nice experience. As I was reading his chart I came across the notation "Pt SOB" I was offended. I told my instructor, "Mrs. Strickland, (who was a gem, by the way) This is horrible! It's not his fault he's not very nice. They shouldn't write something like this about him in his chart, it's an official record!" Hand to God, I said it! I was so serious. I was maybe 20. She looked at me at said all straight-faced... "SOB- Short-of-Breath" and then just smiled. I know she wanted to follow up with a big ole "DUH", but God Love Her she didn't.

Are you laughing yet? I hope so. :)

If not, I hope today's card will at least make you smile. I needed a card for my sweetheart's birthday last Sunday and made one.

But not this one.

And then I thought about how I could use the set for the challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches. I almost didn't submit it for their challenge though, because their guest designer had used the same stamp set and DSP I used in my original card. (I'm going to post it later this week) When I do a challenge, I try and sketch it out before I look at what the Design Team has done so I don't feel like I'm CASE'ing from them. Once I have my idea figured out, I look at what the team has done and what has already been submitted. If mine is different from anyone else's I submit it.

I know this is silly. Why can't more than one person have the same idea? I'm just afraid someone's going to think I copied them and then I'm definitely not going to win anyway. Would you believe one time, I sketched out a challenge, looked at the DT samples and I kid you not, same stamp set, same DSP, same placement everything! I know I should feel like "Great Minds" and all that but nope! So I re-worked my sketch idea, till the only things our cards had in common were that they used the same stamp set, and came up with today's card. I submitted it and I'm really glad I did. You know the Guest Designer I said had used the same set? She thought my card was "Awesome" and how even though we both used the same set how both cards were so "unique".

Here's today's card-

And here's the sketch-

As you can see I turned the sketch on it's side and pulled the squares to the bottom instead of the side, but all of the design elements are still there.

I started with a base of CrumbCake which I ran through my Big Shot in my  Lattice Embossing Folder for some texture. Next came layers of Chocolate Chip, Cherry Cobbler, and Very Vanilla. They were all sponged with Soft Suede. I used my Stampin Write Markers to ink up my stamps from my Open Seas stamp set. I used Not Quite Navy and Chocolate Chip to stamp on the Very Vanilla c/s. The Chocolate Chip layer was Tombowed to the base. Two pieces of Linen Thread were tied around the top section to fill in the extra space and to tie in with the "Nautical" theme. Then the Very Vanilla and Cherry Cobbler c/s pieces were Tombowed together and then applied to the Chocolate Chip piece using Dimensionals.

Here's the inside-

I used the compass image from the front and stamped off 3 times to get the lighter image. However, I realized too late that I forgot to sponge the edges of my Very Vanilla c/s on both cards. SMH... :( I didn't add a sentiment because I'm not sure what I'm going to use this card for.

To be honest I ended up liking this card so much, it was a hard decision as to which card to give my darling. He may still end up getting it for some occasion. :)

Well, I hope you liked today's card and I hope you'll be back soon to see what I have in store for you. If you need supplies to make cards of your own you can shop in my ONLINE STORE 24/7. Remember Sale-A-Bration is only here for another month. Don't wait too long.

Today's Card Recipe-
Cardstock- CrumbCake, Chocolate Chip, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla
Ink- Soft Suede Classic Ink- Chocolate Chip, Not Quite Navy Stampin Write Markers
Stamp Set- Open Seas
Big Shot- Lattice Embossing Folder
Accesories- Linen Thread, Tombow, Dimensionals, Sponges, Clear Blocks

If you liked today's card, I would love it if you left me a comment. It's great when I get to hear from you! Also, if you liked today's card, please feel free to +1 or Pin it. I've added the buttons to my side-bar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are also welcome. :)
Till next time-

Remember- Life isn't about Waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

Preview Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #23

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Hey y'all. Just a quick preview post today so I can make sure I get this card into Freshly Made Sketches' challenge on time.

I had the idea for this card but when I saw that the guest designer had used the same stamp set and DSP I decided I wouldn't enter the challenge. :( But I was making a card for my boyfriend's birthday and after changing it around so the only thing that resembled the guest designer's card was the fact that it was the same stamp set and DSP, I decided to go ahead and enter it anyways. Normally I wouldn't, but I loved how it turned out and figured, why not? Great minds and all that, so here's the preview. I'll have the full post later this week.

Here's their sketch, I rotated it and changed the center layout just a little, but all the main features are still there-

Hope you have a great evening and are having a great weekend.

I'll be back tomorrow with an All-New Full sized post.

Till next time-

Remember- Life isn't about Waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

FMS#19 Challenge- Special Birthday Card Part 2 / My Challenge #4

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Hey y'all. Happy Thursday! I hope you're having a great day.

Well, we're almost to the end of January. Hard to believe it, huh? Do you make resolutions? If you follow me at all, you know I don't believe it "resolutions" per-se, I just resolved "To Try" (Ha! That was a FMS Challenge too!) Any-who, one of my resolves was to do a challenge a week. This would accomplish two things, 1- it would help force me out of my creative box, and 2- hopefully would get just a few more visitors to stop by my humble little site here (hopefully some of them will even leave comments and and maybe follow) So far, I'm doing pretty good with all of my resolves, not just my stamping related ones. How about you?

To that end, I have a challenge entry for you today, and hopefully another one that I will get to tonight. Although I originally posted this card yesterday, I felt something was missing and if you read the original post HERE, you know there was No Way I could give my sister that card with those 2 letters showing when that card was closed. NOPE! Unacceptable. The OCD in me would not allow it! I also kind of felt like the front was just missing something, so when I saw the sketch for this weeks challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches I knew just what I needed to do. So, I went home yesterday, made just a slight change to the front, re-did the inside of the card and ever so carefully mounted it over the original (that OCD comes in handy sometimes) and not only was my card ready for giving, but I had a this weeks Challenge card, and one I felt certain was going to be different from anyone else's.

Here's my new and improved card (which by the way my sister loved!)-

And here's the FMS #19 Challenge Sketch for this week-

Do you see it? I turned the sketch on it's side and the dancing cupcakes are the border going down the side. Instead of the 2 Rectangles shown in the sketch my spinning cupcake is the center rectangle bordered by the  Scalloped Circle. The 3 Pearls well, they were just what the card front needed. Thanks FMS for the inspiration!

Well, I hope you like my card. I hope it encourages you to try something new today. Maybe it's a challenge, or a technique, or maybe it's just turning a sketch and "looking at something in a different light". Remember what this blog is all about- Just Try! If you liked today's card, I would love it if you left me a comment. It's great when I get to hear from you! Also, if you liked today's card, please feel free to +1 or Pin it. I've added the buttons to my side-bar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are also welcome. :)

I'll be back later today with another post and hopefully tomorrow as well. I have to get ready tonight for this weekends stampcamp, so I don't know about tomorrow.

I hope to see you back here real soon. As always- if you like what you see, please feel free to leave a comment, I'd love the feedback. Also feel free to follow. (:

Till next time-

Remember- Life isn't about waiting out the storm, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

A Little Love, A Little Resolve, and A Challenge (FMS #16), Personal Challenge (PC#1)

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Hey y'all.

Do you make resolutions for the New Year?

I try not to really make resolutions for the new year anymore. Know why? Let me tell you. I've discovered in my 29 years here on this earth, *tee-hee-hee* Why, yes I do have 29 years here on this blasted earth, Thank you very much, now where was I? Oh, yes- I've discovered in my 29 years here, that resolutions are very much like diets, in that we start out with the best of intentions only to break them because, lets face it, they probably weren't very realistic to start with in the first place, and then because we feel so very bad about the fact that we let ourselves down by breaking our resolutions, we indulge ourselves in something totally in-appropriate and usually start ourselves in a downward spiral of overindulgence that leads to self loathing that can take months at the gym and months in the wallet to recover from. You can stop with the vigorous head nodding now, because I know you know exactly what I mean.

So instead of making firm resolutions each year I simply resolve to try... To try and do more, to do better, well, u get the idea. It's just so much easier that way. If I mess up I haven't failed, I tried, maybe I just need to try a little more.

Some things I'm going to try this year, I'll put it out there for everyone to see- after all, if no-one knows then it's a little easier to not try as hard.

With regards to my little blog here- 1- I'd like to enter a challenge a week. It may not always happen, but it's a nice goal. 2- Try to keep up with the EWT's. There again, may not always happen, in fact may not happen this week due to all the things going on in my life right now, but like I said the goal is to TRY. 3- Post at least 3 times a week. Should be easy, that's where I'm at now. 4- Increase my followers- Don't really know how to do that other than to just keep doing what I'm doing. Am at 4 on Google now. I know I have more that follow me in readers but no way to check that. Maybe I should change that to more page hits, hmmmm.

In life- The usual- 1- Take better care of my self, Make time for myself. 2- Make my finances a priority so I can sell my house and buy a condo & start saving more for retirement. 3-Work on my Stampin'Up business 4-Finish my first novel (I'm half way through and start the second one (plot already started) 5-Work on finishing the degree I really don't want so I can have it out of the way to pursue other options 6- Look at other life/career options

For Fun- 1- Make more time for Friends and Family 2- Make more time for stamping and other creative ventures 3- work on other blogs

Wow! Maybe I should have put sleep in there somewhere!

Well, to work on Numero Uno up there way at the top I have a new challenge entry. Now I know I had intended to show you a card with product from the new Mini in it but I saw this challenge and new what I wanted to do and so the other card will get posted tomorrow. In fact it will get done today for a scheduled post for tomorrow, so I hope you'll forgive me. It's just when I do previews, the preview gets all the hits and the blog post never gets hit, so I feel like the doing the post is kind of not needed. Know what I mean? ):

Here's the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches-

Pretty simple and straightforward, and I knew right away exactly what I wanted to do, colors and everything. Love it when that happens. It almost worked out that way too. I had hoped to use my new heart framelets, but too big, but I used some leftover pieces I had from a swap and I'm so happy with how it turned out. Ready for the card? Here it is-

Do you love it? I LOVE it! So quick and simple and yet so striking. I tell you what, I would love to receive this card for valentines or just anytime. Also, I think it's a great masculine card, even though that's not the direction I was going with it when I started. And I just looked at the other cards that have been submitted and none of the other cards look anything like mine. Yea Me! Ok- Basic recipe- Basic Black card base 4 1/4 x 8 1/2 folded in 1/2 to make a square then layers of Real Red and Whisper White with the Whisper White going thru the Big Shot and the Perfect Polka Dot Embossing Folder (love that one). They are separated by a band of Basic Black and Real Red. The individual layers are all Tombowed together and then separated by dimensionals. The final touch is the three little hearts punched out of Red Glimmer Paper with the small heart punch and popped up with dimensionals.

Here's the inside-

I added one small glimmer heart and left the rest blank. I could be "artistic" and say "I left it that way for the sender to write their message of love", but truth be told. I'm waiting for my new Valentine's stuff to arrive from SU. (:

What do you think? I hope you like it. I like it so much I think I'm going to make it one of my Valentine's Day StampCamp cards (with one of the new Occasions Mini Stamps inside of course). Quick, Easy, Big Shot, Punches, Occasion items, Pretty, what's not to love, right?

If you liked today's card, I would love it if you left me a comment. It's great when I get to hear from you! Also, if you liked today's card, please feel free to +1 or Pin it. I've added the buttons to my side-bar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are also welcome. :)

I hope it inspires you to create and to maybe do a sketch challenge yourself.

Card recipe-
Cardstock- Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White. Glimmer Red
Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder
Punch- Sm Heart
Accessories- Tombow Adhesive

And for those of you who have read my recent posts- I have been able to get my follow up appt. moved up to tomorrow afternoon so I should have some news one way or another then. All prayers and positive thoughts to this point have been appreciated and any more would be so as well. Here's a little video for you....
He says- I know that I can count on you like 4-3-2, you'll be there, cuz that what friends are sposed to do. This is especially for my sister who is taking the afternoon off to sit with me at the radiology department tomorrow afternoon just in case and for any and all of you who have ever said quiet prayers and thoughts for me or those important in your life. Enjoy-

Till next time,

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It