My First MDS

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Hey Y'all. Well, it's another cold Monday here in  the DMV, but at least the sun is shining (weakly) and there is no precipitation. (YEA!) How was your weekend? I hope you had a Great one!

My weekend did not go as planned at all. It was still a good one, just not the one I really had planned. It started off ok, I got to sleep in on Friday, (always a plus), followed by a mani/pedi, then lunch with my sis and then we decided to throw in some quick shopping for my Christmas party Friday night, before my hair appointment. So as we're finding some outfits, I call to check and see what the dress code is only to find out it's been moved  to another night! Luckily I have that night off! On the plus side though, I got a really cute outfit, and I found a purse to go with it on Saturday at one of my favorite haunts, Target. (You did read that Tar-jay, right?), So, now party-less I got to spend the evening with my sis and nephews so I can't complain too much. My stampcamp for Saturday got moved to next weekend, which was actually ok, because it allowed me to go and get the bulk of my Holiday shopping done. Now if I can just get the cards done, and get everything mailed out this week, I'll be good to go. You'd think with all the cards I've been doing, I would have my Holiday cards done, but nope. More importantly, I have to get stamps or I won't even be able to send them out. I don't remember the last time I used regular snail-mail. Guess that's why I have such a back-log of cards at home, huh? The good news about the last minute date change is there will probably be at least two more people which will be great for my hostess! I had to work Saturday night but then got to go to a party with some friends for a little belated B-day gathering. Yesterday I went to a Pampered Chef party with my stampin buddy April and met some really nice new friends, especially Sherry who I have a feeling will def be a partner in crime (sooner than later, I have a feeling)! And of course we had football, right up to midnight so you know it was a good weekend, even if last night's game didn't end the way I would have liked it too.

So with that said, let's chat about football. I'm so ready for the College Bowl games to start up because I am really missing my College Ball!  :-(  NFL wise though it was a mixed afternoon yesterday. As you know by now, I have 3 main teams, The Patriots, The Cowboys, and anyone who plays the Redskins. So yesterday was easy since my boy Tom and the Pats were playing the Redskins. Winnah, Winnah, Chicken Dinnah! Now, while I was waiting for the Cowboys to play there was Miami vs Eagles....SMH....I told you if I bragged on them they would probably just go back to disappointing and they lost BIG! I stick by my assertion that they are the South's Redskins. With the caliber of players they have they should simply not do so poorly on a consistent basis and continually disappoint their fans. Over in Denver, Timmy T and his team, pulled out a last minute win over the Bears. Did you see this game? Oh Holy Smokes!!! There was about 5 minutes left and the score was 10-0 and they come back to win. Their kicker kicked a 59yd'er to tie the game! Who does that?!? 59 yards! And then went on to kick the winner in OT. AMAZING!!!!! N.O. beat Tennessee and then came the last game of the night. The Cowboys vs the Giants. This was just a game of lead changes that went right down to the wire. Those dang giants called a Time Out with 6 seconds left, to ice the kicker for the winning FG, which had already been put into play by the time all the whistles were blown and split the uprights! But if you looked on replay he called it in time, the refs were just slow to blow, which I have to say Really BLOWS! Especially since the next attempt was blocked and we lost by 5. Cowboys and Giants are now tied and they meet again on 1/1. I will be so sad when football season is over, but you know who will be glad? My studio assistants. Yep, Duecey and Bitty HATE football season. Me yelling at the T.V. gets me more than one Evil - Kitteh - Eye a game. Yep, they will be glad, at least until baseball season starts back up full swing! :-)

On to stamping, I finally got around to playing with my birthday present, my MDS!  I've decided to try a new feature here and add MDS Mondays to my End of the Week Technique and have two regular challenges for myself. This will allow me to add one more routine post here and not only challenge myself to step out of my box, but also to develop my skill with MDS. I'm very excited about this and hope you will be too. I just have the basic program at this point so we'll see how it goes.

I had seen on the Utah Divas page that this weeks challenge would be to incorporate Polka Dots or Stripes on a MDS project and I managed to use both. I have to say, I did this card much quicker than I had anticipated and that was even with making a revision. It only took me around 30 minutes which I think was pretty good.

Here's the final card-

This was all done without any additional downloads. I was excited to use the striped DSP for my second layer and the sprinkles on top of my cupcake look like "polka-dots" to me. What do you think?

Here was the original-

I liked it, but I just felt like I wanted a little something more. I love ribbon, but don't have a lot at home to choose from yet, so I don't incorporate it into a lot of my cards. I really like that with MDS I have so many ribbon choices already built in and can change the colors too. For my ribbon I layered 2 Brocade Blues on my card and then layered a Whisper White one right in the center. I then made two bows sized them like I wanted them and then layered them too. So quick and easy! I Likee!!!! The only thing I couldn't figure out was the ribbon placement. I actually wanted it to tuck under the second layer instead of going across the entire card, but other than that I was really excited about the finished look.

This MDS is going to be really helpful for me because you know there's no way I could have gone back and added that ribbon on a real card. That's one of the really nice benefits of creating cards in MDS, you can do Mock-Ups to see if you're going to like a design or see what changes you want to make before you actually cut cardstock and adhere it. What a time saver as well as money saver! Plus the biggest bonus- Built- in Rulers. So easy to make sure everything is equal and placed just right! The one real downside I've found is unless I plan on doing a Hybrid card Tink can't have her way with my cards. Now, if there is a glitter function on MDS, I don't know about, I hope one of you will chime in and let me know, because that would be one download I would be getting STAT!!!!

Now you know I think the inside should be pretty too, so even though this is digital, I couldn't just leave you with a card front. Here's the inside-

Another feature I really like it the ability to change the opacity, so it's just like stamping off. I added a cute little trio of balloons to pretty up the inside and lightened them up, just like I would have done on a regular card. I wish I had been able to find a "string" stamp but I think it still looks cute. And if I go by my standard of "Would I like to receive this either in the mail, or by E-mail?", I have to say, YES!

What do you think? I'm pretty excited about my first MDS project and how well it goes with the theme. Hopefully I will be able to link this to the Utah Diva's MDS Monday page (I don't see a linky-tool, I'm waiting for a response from them) 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. :)

As always, if today's project inspires you to create, I would love to see it!

If you need supplies to create this or other project in either MDS or our regular product, visit my ONLINE STORE. There's still plenty of time to get your Holiday shopping done too.

I hope to see you back here soon.

Till then,

Be Safe,
Shan


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A Delightful Q&E Holiday Card and Pictures From This Weekend

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Hey y'all! Well we survived another Monday and  Tuesday is starting unseasonably warm here in the DMV ahead of a cold front and the threat of the white stuff tomorrow night. :-( I am not happy about that at all! You know what I am happy about? Today's card, and pictures!

We had so much fun on Saturday! Can I just tell you what a joy it was to see those ladies so excited about stamping and creating! WOW!!!!! They were AMAZING! Here's D with her cards at the end of the afternoon.

Didn't she do a Great job?!?

Here's J's  cards. (She didn't have her "face on" so she wouldn't get in the pic.)

She did a Great job too!

They both picked it right up and were so creative, adding their own touches to their cards, not at all Scaredy Cats, like yours truly. I was soooo proud! They were sooo cute! My friend and team-member April was over helping me out Saturday and we had mentioned CASE'ing and at one point one of the ladies saw something someone else did that they liked and they said "I'm gonna CASE that" We were like proud little momma hens!

Today's card is another one we did on Saturday. It's a CASE from my team member Stephanie Finch from last year. It's a super quick & easy card and it was the first one we did this weekend and the girls knew they were going to be able to handle everything after this.

I love the non-traditional colors, and paper. I started with a base of Poppy Parade. I L-O-V-E this color! So sad it's only around for another 6 months. I hope it will make it into the regular color rotation, it's so beautiful! I used the striped layer from Just Add Cake because it reminded me of the DSP from Candy Cane Christmas last year, which I absolutely loved!

Since you shouldn't punch through two layers of cardstock with our punches this is where my OCD comes in handy. You knew there had to be a use to it besides a reason to laugh at me right? Well here it is. (At least one reason, anyway) I used my Ornament punch to punch out a piece from the DSP, and then laid my DSP down on my base piece and using a pencil lightly traced the outline of the cutout. Now I knew exactly where to place my punch to cut out my base piece. OOOOHHHHH..... AAAAHHHHHHH. Worth the price of admission right there, huh?

Next, take one of the small background stamps from Delightful Decorations and randomly stamp (I know, I said random) with Poppy Parade. I used the snow flake pattern. Then adhere your DSP to your card base, I used Tombow for mine, they will line up just right for you, so nice. Now, once again lightly trace inside the punched out area, you'll need this later.

Next, I chose a stamp from the Delightful Decorations set and inked it up in Poppy Parade and stamped it on Whisper White cardstock and then punched it out using my Ornament Punch. I decorated it with my Two-Way Glue Pen and Dazzling Diamonds and adhered it to my outlined area on the inside of my card with Tombow.

A simple sentiment from Four for the Holidays in Basic Black and this card was done. My ladies this weekend did their sentiments on a Whisper White cardstock as a banner and it looked great like that too. Like I said, Quick and Easy aided by my OCD, who woulda thunk it?

Here's a few more pics of my studio assistants helping out this weekend. Yesterday I showed you Bitty trying to help out. Here's some pics of Deucey. Sunday night I was trying to take pictures of all the cards so I could upload them and I put my "Light Box" down on the table, the key work there being "box". Well, Bitty is not the only one that likes a box. The problem is Deucey forgets he is a 16+ lb Maine Coon who is over 3 ft tall....

I'll just curl up here in the box

Somehow he just doesn't quite fit! He just doesn't get it though. My poor sweet boy....

Hey Ma'am, I'm in the box. See me.... :)

He's my sweet Guard Kitty. He thinks he's a Dog! I kid you not! And, he can open all the doors in the house. My sweet boy!

Well, that's all I have for you today. Come back tomorrow, I'll have more to show you.
Today's Supplies-
Cardstock- Poppy Parade, Whisper White Just Add Cake DSP
Ink- Basic Black Classic Ink, Poppy Parade
Stamps- Delightful Decorations, Four For The Holidays
Ornament Punch
Accesories- Two-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds,

If you need supplies to make todays card or cards like it you can shop in my ONLINE STORE 24/7.

I hope you liked today's card. If you liked it, 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. :) Thanks for stopping by today and I hope to see you again soon!

Till then,

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

A Wintry Holiday card

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Hey y'all! Hope your Monday is is a good one. Sorry I'm a little late getting started today, but here we go.
I hope you had a great weekend and got to spend some quality time with friends and family and of course in your design space. More to come later this week about my stampcamp. Let me just tell you though, I am still laughing about the bow fight, yes I thought the cousins were just about going to come to blows over bows. Try saying three times fast! Oh my goodness. And, if you think I'm a perfectionist, and let's face it I am and I know it and since I've told you all I can't remember how many times how OCD I am wait till I tell you I have a new protege who may outshine even me. Yes indeed.

Well, it is Monday, so you know what time it is, that's right weekend football recap. I am currently mourning the imminent demise of the collegiate football season. Bowl Season is upon us, and then in only a  months time no more college ball, and only 1 short month after that no more NFL! Now I know many of you will rejoice that you will not have to skip over a paragraph of game scores but I will have to go through withdraw. Not a pretty sight, I assure you of this! Sympathy card will be accepted.
At any rate here they are- #1 LSU stomped #13 Ga's hiney! (Yes I wrote hiney, I never know who might stumble upon this) Really! Who came up with this pairing? Did anyone really anticipate a different outcome? The good news is that now LSU and ALA will compete against each other for the Bowl Championship. That game should at least be watchable.
NFL wise- The Dolphins won huge over the Raiders. They are really doing good lately. I have to say I'm kinda proud of them this year. That being said they will probably go back to sucking, however I hope they prove me wrong. Timmy Tebow led the Broncos to a win over the Vikings. Go Timmy! Pats over the Colts. Cowboys lose in overtime to the Cardinals and The Jets (ThankYouVeryMuch!)beat the Redskins.

Ok, so on to stamping. this is one of the cards I made for this weekend's stampcamp. I saw one similar to it on Stampin' Connection and thought it would be a quick and easy way to use the Stitched Stocking stamp set and Stocking Builder Punch.

I started with a base of Concord Crush. Such a pretty color! I can't believe it's going to be gone soon. :-( I then used Whisper White c/s and ran it through my Big Shot using my Northern Flurries Embossing Folder, and then I put it aside for a few minutes.

The stocking was stamped with Concord Crush on Whisper White c/s and punched out with the Stocking Builder Punch. I then punched out the heel, toe and cuff using Silver Glimmer Paper and adhered it using Tombow, and attached a pretty little Rhinestone in the middle.

I then took the embossed piece and the Whisper White piece for the inside liner and went to my Smooch/Spritzer box to experiment. I really wish you could see the results! I mixed some Frost White paint with Rubbing Alcohol in a little $1 pump spray bottle I got at a Big Box store and sprayed the c/s a couple of times from the edge of the box and it looks just like the White Shimmer Paper I used at one of my really nice Holiday Card Classes earlier this season. Unbelievably pretty!

*TIP* Remember when you do this not to spray too close, the alcohol will make your c/s curl because it will make your c/s damp.

*TIP* Don't stamp with regular ink and then spray, your ink will run. Ask me how I know! At least I had the foresight to try this out first om a scrap piece instead of on my good piece!

*TIP* Try not to touch anywhere except the outside edge of your card until it is dry because the oil on your fingers will leave marks on the cardstock while it is damp.

I then adhered my 4 Rhinestones to my embossed snowflakes and attached a piece of our beautiful 5/8in Organza ribbon to the front of my card. I just applied a little SNAIL to the edges and tucked them around behind the back of the card. I adhered the stocking next with 2 dimensionals. 1 just below the cuff and one near the bottom and the cuff sits just on the ribbon. Next came the bow.

 Ahhh the bow. The sweet little bow that almost caused blood to flow in my stampcamp this weekend. 9in. of Organza tied with the little bunny ears technique and then adhered with a Mini Glue Dot, to the other ribbon and the front of your card is done. So simple and pretty, but in person it packs such a presence!

So, let me just tell you about "The Bow". (BTW- I have their permission to tell the story here) I'm demonstrating how to tie the "Bow" and J tells D she knows how and will help her out because D seems to be struggling. Now J and D are family. So D decides she's going to keep that bow, and takes it back, but doesn't have it just right (now mind you D is the one that will rival me for my Need for Perfection) and is fussing with it (we finally got it just right). So I tell J, she can have the one I am making. Nope, It's got to be the other one, the one she actually took from D which was D's to start with. I tell you what they were threatening each other over that sweet little bow! I was afraid that Concord Crush card was going to have some Real Red on it! My friend April was there and we just looked at each other! It was soooo funny! J sent me a text later about it, how they were still laughing and how she was already telling the story to other friends!

Here's the inside of the card-

I used the sentiment from Four for the Holidays and I stamped it in Basic Black Classic Ink. I embossed the lower corner with the same Embossing Folder as the front, but I ate the folder up doing it, so I don't recommend trying this. (You know me I had to try and make the inside pretty too! Although the inside is really pretty because it's soooo shimmery!)

The good news is- No Bows were injured in the making of this card and no friendships either! In fact, just beautiful cards and a new found love for card making for 2 friends of mine. J and D had sooo much fun and are so excited to be making cards again soon. I can't wait to do this again with them!

So , while my friend April and I were waiting for J and D to arrive Saturday, we looked over at the Smooching table and wanna know what we saw? Take a look-

Bitty Smooches too!

Yep, My studio assistant Bitty can be counted on to find any box at all, anywhere in the studio, and she found this one Saturday! Doesn't she look sweet?

Well, that's all for today. Come back tomorrow, I'll have more  to show you from this weekend's camp.
Supplies for today's card-

Cardstock- Concord Crush, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer Paper
Ink- Basic Black, Concord Crush
Big Shot, Northern Flurries Embossing Folder
Stamp Set- Stitched Stocking, Four for the Holidays
Punches- Stocking Builder
Ribbon- 5/8 in Organza
Accesories- Frost White Paint, Rhinestones, Stampin Dimensionals, Tombow, SNAIL

If you need supplies to make this card or cards like it you can purchase them 24/7 in my ONLINE STORE.

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 to see you soon.
Till next time.

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

Happy 29th Birthday To Me!

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Hey y'all! Hope you're having an Amazing day!

I am. It's my birthday. Yep 29! I think that's pretty Amazing, especially when you consider my kids are almost 20! LOL!

It started at midnight with a call my from my precious girl telling me how much she loved me. Doesn't get much better than that does it. My mom called me this morning. Still waiting for my son to call, but I think he's working today and I saw him last night, so I'm sure it's coming. I got to sleep in this morning. (Score) I've heard from lots of friends today and had a late carb filled pancake breakfast at IHOP. (YUM) BTW, I highly recommend the EggNog & the Pumpkin Praline pancakes. I got My Digital Studio as one of my presents, and I'm getting ready to go to the invitation only party at VS's for a little shopping with my mom's card and my birthday gift certificate from VS's and will get to see some friends too. Like I said its been a pretty good day.

I just wanted to do a quick little post here today. This is not my birthday card, but I think it's sooo pretty. I made it for one of the girls I work with. Although I do a lot of Bling, and a lot of shimmer and glimmer, I don't think my cards are usually all that "girly", but boy this one was all soft and girly and I have to say I really liked it.

Here it is-

I used Blushing Bride cardstock for the base and then used some Gold cardstock that I ran through the BigShot with my Tulip Frames Embossing Folder. I layered Blushing Bride inside the framed area as a background for my scrumptious little cupcakes.

This was the first card I had made with the Create a Cupcake Stamp Set and Cupcake Builder Punch. Love It! I used Very Vanilla and Blushing Bride for the frosting with a ring of Dazzling Diamonds around the edge for a Sugared appearance. Some Real Red Cherries and a candle to top things off, made things so easy. I put them together with Tombow and adhered them with dimensionals. The sentiment is part of the same set.

Here's the inside-

The sentiment is from the same set. I just love the cute little font!

For my sweet little cupcake I inked the stamps by coloring them in with my Stampin Write Markers and then Stamped off once so the image would be lighter and then stamped onto the cardstock. I then let Tink do her thing and she made it shine! Don't you just want to take a bite out of it?

Well that's all for today, like I said a quick little post. I'm off for some quick retail therapy, see some friends and then get back for a webinar on MDS before another 29th has come and gone.

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 you are having a Great weekend and the rest of it is Amazing too. Come back tomorrow to see what I have for you. We had stamp camp yesterday and OH THE STORIES!!!!

See you soon!
Till then,

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

You Know Why They Call It Distressing Right?

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Hey y'all. Well TGIF!

Another week has come and gone, or at least almost gone. I hope you are getting ready to enjoy your weekend. I've got work this weekend and a little stampcamp scheduled for tomorrow, so no rest for the wicked. :-)

So, if you've followed me at all on here you've heard me talk about my absolute love LOVE of ALL THINGS to do with distressing right? You know, ripping, tearing, crumpling, scoring the edges, sponging the edges and spritzing especially the color spritzing....Everything!

Oh, Wait! Snap! So Glad I just crossed back over from that parallel universe! NOT!!!!!!!!


Let me just ask you one question-

You know why they call it distressing right?

Because it Distresses me so! >:-(

In fact I think it's a pretty apt term because it has the word Stress in it which is exactly what it causes me!

I can not tell you how long I sit there with the paper in my hand  before I can actually make my self tear it. Heaven forbid I tear too much! Then I've just wasted the paper and failed at the project. Double Fail! Today's card was the first time that I ever willingly crumpled cardstock on my own, and I can't tell you how hard it was! Even though I knew what I wanted, and could see it in my mind's eye, no lie, I must have sat there with that piece of River Rock cardstock in my hand for a good 3 minutes.... waiting.... willing my hand to close around it. It was just so hard.

Even those techniques like the Faux Torn paper, where it looks like torn paper on your card but its not. It's just where you sponged over the edge of a piece of torn paper. Well, guess what? You still had to tear a piece of paper to start with!

You know that color spritzer tool? I stay away from it when it has browns or blacks in it. You have to be careful with it. I'm always afraid instead of looking antiqued my projects are just going to look moldy and mildewed. EEEWWWW!

Why do we want to tear our cardstock? It's beautiful! It makes beautiful cards. It makes me happy!

Ok. So, I know on some deep level, ok, so maybe it's not really such a deep level, that the distressing makes for pretty cards too. And I'm even willing to admit that I like some of them. OK! A lot of them! I like a lot of them. In fact I really like the one I'm showing you today. I just don't like making them.

They STRESS ME OUT!

What if I do one of those techniques and they don't turn out? Then not only has it not turned out, but I've ruined perfectly good cardstock. Fail, Fail, Fail, Fail..... See where I'm going with this....Oh the stress...

You know if I could only channel this OCD into other aspects of my life... oh the things I could accomplish!

But..... I did have a momentary lapse and I created this card a few months back and have just been waiting for the right time to post it.

I remember the day I made it, I sent a picture to my upline Robin to show her what I had done. I was so excited that I had crumpled this stupid little piece of cardstock! I swear, You would have thought I had just discovered Nuclear Fission, or won the Nobel Peace Prize. And, God Bless her! She, the Goddess that she is, acted suitably impressed and Oohhed and Aahhed and told me how proud of me she was. I am so blessed to have her!

So, are you ready for today's card? Here it is-

I started with a base of Island Indigo. This is one of my all time favorite colors! It takes me to the ocean every time! (My favorite place in the world!) Next, is a layer of River Rock. Such an unassuming color and not really all that pretty on it's own, but really a work-horse! It just seems to change and adapt to so many colors. I love seeing what all I can pair it with. I stamped that piece multiple times with the manifest stamp, from the Open Seas Stamp set, in Crumb Cake Classic Ink. I'm so glad they kept that stamp set around. I really hope they put it in next year's catalog! Next I sponged the edges. Then came the hard part. I sat there and stared at the cardstock while it sat in my hand.

I'm not sure why it didn't magically just crumple up into a little ball when I said "Poof." Trust me I tried saying it a couple of times. No joy! Finally I had to face the cold hard facts. I was going to have to close my fingers around the paper myself....and I did... and I found no joy in that either. Unfortunately, after I un-crumpled it I realized it wasn't crumpled enough and I was going to have to do it more! OH NOES!!!!! As if the first time was not bad enough. I was already in the mindset though so I just powered on through and got it done. Luckily for me, it turned out ok, and I was able to breathe a sigh of relief! I smoothed it out, kind of an oxymoronic moment to me, crumple it up to smooth it out....just saying... but anyways...I smoothed it out and lightly sponged over it with some Crumb Cake ink to make the wrinkles show up, touched up the edges a bit too and then I put it aside for a few minutes.

I stamped the anchor image in Island Indigo on a scrap of Very Vanilla and cut it out and then punched the hole at the top using my Crop-a-Dile. I took some Linen Thread and wrapped around the River Rock layer, criss-crossing across the front and then tied through the hole at the top of the anchor, leaving the ends a little long and a little frayed to hang from the top. I then mounted this whole piece to the base with Tombow.

For the focal point I used a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock. I inked up the globe image from the same stamp set in Crumb Cake and stamped it first. I then inked up the image of the Schooner in Island Indigo and stamped it over the Globe. A little sponging around the edges with Crumb Cake and I adhered this with dimensionals to all 4 corners.

The sentiment in the lower right hand corner is from Petite Pairs. Such a great set. Definitely a Must-Have! I used Basic Black here.

For the inside I kept it simple, I know hard to believe...

I stamped the compass from the same set in the bottom right corner here, I stamped off once so it would be faint, I think I used every stamp in the set. (LOL)

And then, of all the things, Do you see what I see?

Ok, is it just me or is the Little Drummer Boy now playing in your head too?

Yep! The greeting's not straight! I didn't use the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to stamp the second half of the sentiment! Oh Dear Lord! Do you know how much I wanted to trash the whole card at that very moment! I mean I wouldn't even have been able to just put a piece of Very Vanilla over it as a liner because the compass is so far over. No!!!!!! And because the front layer was glued down and not dimensionalled, I would have had to crumple up more paper. Well let me tell you what! It was a battle of the OCD and the "crumple" beat out the "a little not straight" so I decided I would just have to live with it looking like that, for the recipient and you and all the world to see.

Oh, I feel so exposed, so nekkid (Yes, that's a real word!) and not in a good way! Oh well, the recipient was my W.H. my work husband (that's what I called him, even to his wife *tee-hee-hee*, heck I called her my sister-wife) and he really liked it and didn't say anything about the sentiment being crooked. And you guys are my friends and probably don't care that the sentiments crooked.

Heck, I'm probably the only one who cares the sentiment is crooked! In fact, if I hadn't said anything, chances are none of y'all would have said, "Hey Shan, what's up with the way crooked sentiment?" But you know me!

So that's my deal with Distressing and the stress it causes me. I'm sure it's not likely to change anytime soon. Hopefully, I will learn to manage it a little, because I know I will learn to make some really pretty cards if I can just conquer this. But like most people with any form of OCD, I realize that it is irrational. It's just the  matter of overcoming the irrational that takes some time. That's a part of the whole Scaredy Cat Adventure I'm on, and I guess you're on it too if you're putting up with me! Awww you're my support! And as such, you get to smile and chuckle and outright laugh along with me every step of the way. See comic relief for your day! That's just the kind of friend I am! Aren't you Lucky!

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. :)

Well, that's all for today and for this week. I hope you have an Amazing weekend filled with friends and Family and of course time to spend Stamping and Crafting.

Till next time....

Be Safe,
Shan


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Ever Have One Of THOSE Days? This Set ALAWAYS Makes Me Smile!

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Hey y'all.

Ever have one of THOSE days?

You know the ones.....I'm not even talking about Monday's. I'm talking about the ones where you just start off the morning and think "Be Kind, Rewind".

Well, you know my OCD, I have 3 alarms set up in the morning, just in case, because if I were to oversleep, it's a nightmare to try and get in to work. Sure enough, 2 of the 3 didn't go off. Oh Noes!

It's ok though, I'm still on time....I'm sitting down putting on my shoes getting ready to leave, one shoe on, and all of a sudden I can't find my second sock! I tell you I look everywhere! I move everything! I finally walk back upstairs with one shoe on, (very lopsided I might add) convinced I must have left the sock upstairs, you know it must have dropped or something. Nope, not there, so I get another one and go back downstairs. I sit down to put this second sock on and what do you think I find? Yep! The first sock! Guess where? You Betcha! On my foot! SMH!
I feel I can tell you this because we're friends and friends don't judge right? We just commiserate. Plus, I know you're not really laughing at me right now, you're laughing with me, right? Right! See, I knew you'd understand.

I was looking for a card to post though and came across this one. I did it about a month ago, on the fly, before class, for my professor. I couldn't believe how quickly it came together. You know me, things don't usually come together real quick, but this one did. It was a good thing too, because I was really pressed for time. In between getting home from work and heading out to class there's just over a hour for me to do whatever needs to be done. Not a lot of time for me to plan and execute a card. AUGH! STRESS!!!!

This set always makes me smile though. I know I use it a lot, but it's just so Stinking Cute and versatile and like I said it makes me smile.Why wouldn't I use it? On top of that a portion of every sale is donated to the Ronald McDonald House? Win,Win! Do you own it yet? You need to get it before it's gone, so you can smile every time you use it too.

Here's my card-

I used Wild Wasabi for the base with a strip of  Just Add Cake down the side. Such a fun pattern! Then I layered Baja Breeze, Peach Parfait and Whisper White. I stamped the sweet little snail from the Turtle and Co. set onto my Whisper White c/s. I have this in the clear-mount set so I was able to see exactly where I was stamping him. Can't tell you how much I Love that ability. Then I stamped the little birthday hat on his shell. I colored both in using my Stampin Write Markers. I stamped the gifts on a scratch piece of Whisper White c/s colored them in with my Stampin Write Markers and then cut them out using my paper snips. I attached a small strip of linen thread to the underside of the gifts with a dimensional and then applied a few more dimensionals to the back to pop the gifts up. I attached the other end of the linen thread to the snail's tail with just a dab of glue applied to the thread. This whole panel was secured with 4 dimensionals.

I stamped the sentiment in Basic Black on Whisper White and used my Word Window Punch to punch it out and then secured it with 2 dimensionals. I can't say it enough, this is a must have for your punch collection.

For the inside, just a little something because you know I believe the outside shouldn't have all the fun-

Seriously! How can you not smile when you see his little face smiling at you? Every time, I see him he makes me smile. Seriously, Every time! I'm going to miss him when he's gone! We need to write in and make this a regular stamp set. The greeting is from the same set as well.

It makes me sad that there's no Glitter or Shimmer on this card but as it was for my Very Masculine, Ex- Army Professor, I resisted, but Boy. It. Was. Hard.

That's all I have for today. A quick, fun, easy to recreate card for you and a hope that your day starts and continues better than my day started out. ;o)

Here's what I used for today's card
Cardstock- Wild Wasabi, Baja Breeze, Peach Parfait, Whisper White, Just Add Cake DSP
Stamp Set- Turtle and Co.
Ink- Basic Black Classic Ink Pad, Stampin Write Markers- Wild Wasabi, So Saffron, Baja Breeze, Tempting Turquoise, Pretty in Pink, Tangerine Tango, Melon Mambo
Accesories- Clear Block C, Linen Thread, Dimensionals, Tombow

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. :)

If you need supplies to recreate this card or others, you can visit my ONLINE STORE, 24/7.

I  hope you have a Great day!
Till next time,

Be Safe,
Shan



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Merry and Pink Christmas Challenge - SSC231

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Hey y'all. I hope this post finds you good this morning. It's overcast here in the DMV and our unseasonably spring weather is headed out and the rain and cold is on it's way in. Boo- Hiss!

Hey, did you see MNF last night? Drew Brees led the Saints in a Romp over the Giants! I listened and kinda peeked at it while I was working on my technology/computer homework. More-like, while I got frustrated with my homework! I swear I do what the program asks and then I submit it and it says I didn't do it. I'm gonna have to go back and re-do it and and save screenshots of each step to prove I did it! SMH!!!!!

Well, finally, it's almost midnight and I got so frustrated that you know what I did, I pulled out my ink and paper and made me a card. Now what does that tell you, when challenges, and stamping, stress inducing activities are the things I turn to at that time of the evening? I know! It confused me too!

I had seen this sketch over at Stampin 411, and kinda knew where I wanted to go with it.













A lot of the people doing this challenge were only using paper for the center-panel. Who knew just using paper for a focal point could make such a statement? Apparently, quite a few people! Well, I decided to challenge myself to not CASE them and to do something different and stamp the center-panel. I also decided to alter the angle of the panel and the sentiment tag. What in the world was this Scaredy cat thinking at that time of the night? Thank goodness, Stampin 411 gives measurements! Can you imagine if I had to figure those out at that time of the night! OMGoodness! I left my kitchen table a mess as it was... but I'm pretty happy with the results. Let me know what you think.

Here's my card-

I used Pretty in Pink Cardstock for the base. I wanted to use Blushing Bride for a little softer card, but I was out. I think the color is still nice though. I layered it with the Letters to Santa DSP that coordinates with the Merry and Type stamp set I used. I love Love that set and paper. So Pretty! Next came another layer of Pretty in Pink and Very Vanilla set at an angle. These two layers were mounted together with Tombow and then were mounted at an angle to the base with Tombow so the overhang could be trimmed off.

After everything was mounted I stamped the ornaments from the Merry and Type set in Pretty in Pink on the Center Panel. I  let Tink do her thing and instant Bling. The sentiment is also from Merry and Type. I inked it with my Stampin Write Markers in Pretty in Pink and Chocolate Chip, stamped it on a scrap of Very Vanilla and punched it out with  my  Designer Label Punch and stuck it to a piece of cardstock I punched from Pretty in Pink using my Modern Label Punch.  Tink had her way with the label too, and I think it looks great!

The only think I would have changed about the front is when I went to put the label down I felt like it need some sponging, but if you do one thing you really kind of need to do everything. But, since I had mounted all the layers to trim them, it was too late to do that, so the label got "Tinked" instead. Looking at the card in the light of day, I think perhaps I could have let Tink edge the center panel too and it would have been "just right". Maybe we'll fix that at home later.

P.S.- I came home tonight and couldn't resist a little editing just to see "What if?" and here's what happened. Oh and the difference in color is due to my new Ott light that I got myself for my upcoming Birthday on an Black Saturday Sale, at almost 50 % off. (I changed the next pic too because the color is just sooo much better) I think the new touch is just what it needed.

Now you know, even after midnight I couldn't let the outside of the card have all the fun... so here's the inside-

The sentiment is from Four for the Holidays. It stamped it in Chocolate Chip. I inked the bottomed image with my Stampin Write Markers in Chocolate Chip and Pretty in Pink and the stamped off once so it would be a lighter impression and then let Tink do her thing because the inside really should be pretty too! I took a closeup of the bottom corner hoping it would sparkle a little more for you but I think it just looks a little sugared in this picture, but still pretty.

In real life it's like diamonds sparkling all over it....Cue the OOOOOOHHHHHH.....AHHHHHHHHH  LOL!

Well, that's all I have for today. It was a quickly thrown together card, which of course for me means...Oh let's not go there! Let's say instead that it came together quicker than most, yes that sounds better. :-)

I hope you like it and I hope you decide to play along with us. If you liked it, 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. :) 

Here's what I used today-
Cardstock- Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla, Letters to Santa DSP
Ink- Stampin Write Markers- Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip
Stamps-Merry and Type, Four for the Season
Punches- Designer Label, Modern Label
Accessories- Tombow, Two-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter


Till next time,
Be Safe,
Shan


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Thanksgiving -An Epic Fail at Posting- A Major Score in Thankfulness

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Hey ya'll!

Do you ever wish one area of your life could magically transfer over to another? Yeah me too? Do you ever wish your OCD could magically transfer over to another area of your life? No? I do! Then I would be like the most super organized, efficient person on the planet! Are you kidding me? I can't even begin to imagine how much I could accomplish!

Until then though, I am going to vow to at least learn to use this handy-dandy function of Blogger's known as the scheduler feature and schedule important posts like Thanksgiving, Christmas, New-Year's etc, etc, so they don't get missed. I got a little busy yesterday and then got stuck in the Pre-Black-Friday line at Wal-Mart with a little power hungry teenager with an attitude "You can't cross the line until mid-night" and deceptive advertising "Sale starts at 10" Yes, but guess what, you couldn't purchase those new electronics until midnight, so you then had to stand in line for 2 more hours and wait and let everyone without electronics go past you. Poor Planning Wal-Mart. FAIL! EPIC FAIL! There should have been Electronics only lines. Let me tell you they had to start the sales early because people were fighting over $39 vacuums. Seriously people, Vacuums! It's not like they were Dysons! How are you going to let everyone with something other than electronics check out before midnight? Let me tell you, we let this one guy go in front of us at like 11:20 because he said he had no electronics. By the time he finished checking out it was 11:45 and he had checked everything out except the Blue-ray combo player in the bottom of his cart and the manager let him come back and stand in the front of the line in front of me and the 15 or so people in back of me. Oh, H**L NO!!!!! Let me tell you, there was about to be a lynching up in the Wal-Mart. And the guy's like "So, you want me to go wait in line again?" "Uh, Yeah!, Since we, only let you go ahead, since you clearly said you had no electronics! DUH!" Let me tell you, I was calling for the manager, I was calling for the police, and so were the people behind me! I was tired, I was cranky, and the people behind me were not any better. It was not a pretty sight. Needless to say, that man did not go in front of us."

Sorry, I digress...I had intended to go see Breaking Dawn yesterday, Team Edward all the way, but I actually slept in instead as I had stayed up the night before stamping and crafting (wait till you see the projects I have to show you, soon) I got up yesterday and started baking, put the finishing touches on some projects and ran out to the first of two houses I was headed to and spent a lovely afternoon there. I then headed to the second house in time to see the Cowboys win against the Dolphins in the final seconds of the game. (YEA!) Here, I thought I would at least be able to post from my cell, only to get the message that my browser was no longer supported... Thanks, Blogger!, at which point the migraine was setting in, but I was determined to get the 32in flat-screen for $188 at 10pm (Which is now in my possession. Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas to me!), get home, do this quick post and be in bed by 11,11:30 so I could be at work bright and early this morning. Needless to say that didn't happen. Thanks, Wal-Mart! So, since I didn't get home until almost 1, I figured it was already today and the "Epic Fail", "My Bad" post could wait just a little bit longer.

Anyways, now that you have listened to the I'm a bad planner, and a cranky migrainer, (but come-on, who wouldn't be in Wal-Mart, at midnight, with people taking advantage of your kindness and trying to cut line, really?), and a happy football fan, how about how Thankful I am for all my friends and family and for all of you who take time out of your busy days to stop by here and spend just a few minutes of your day with me. Whew sorry, I just previewed that and realized what a mouthful it was. LOL!

Here's my Thanksgiving card to you -

So simple, so sweet. We actually did this for my first stamp camp, except we changed to a 4 1/4 square card and my girls loved it! Pumpkin Pie is one of my all time favorites! I have to tell you though, I made Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake yesterday. Oh, Good Lord! Sooo Good! Paula Deen was right! I may never bake another Pumpkin Pie again!

Well, that's all for this post, I'm going to learn to use that darn scheduler option so I don't miss the important dates anymore and leave the important people in my life, feeling like they don't matter, and by important I mean you! I hope you all have an Amazing day, and get Tremendous Deals if you venture out.

*Tip #1* - Take a snack with you for standing in line and a drink but not something they might think you purchased there and not enough to make you need the bathroom, you don't want to have to lose your place in line because of a bathroom trip, unless of course you have a place-holder.
*Tip #2* - Take a book to read while standing in line, unless you have above mentioned place-holder, but even then, having a book to read may still be a good thing. Just saying.

If you need supplies for today's card or for others like it you can visit my online store 24/7 and avoid the lines completely (How sweet is that?)

Card recipe-
Cardstock-Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie
Ink-Soft Suede, Crumb Cake
Stamps-Handpenned Holidays
Accessories- Sponges, Tombow

Also don't forget time is running out for our Online Extravaganza-

And while you're there don't forget- to check out our Online Extravaganza-




Online Extravaganza, Stampin' Up!'s annual sale to kick off the holiday shopping season, will begin 
Monday, November 21, 2011, and run through Wednesday, November 30, 2011.
You may place orders either through my Online Store or by e-mailing me directly at angelshannona@gmail.com

You'll want to be sure to log in to my Online Store beginning  
Monday, November 21, to take advantage of great savings!

-FREE digital downloads valued at $40 when you buy My Digital Studio Express,
-60 percent off select Designer Fabrics,
-30 percent off an exclusive ribbon bundle!

Now's a great time to use this for Holiday Shopping, No Lines, No Wait, No Hassle, Just Smile and Happiness about wishes fulfilled! Let me help you get wishlist items crossed off.

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. :)

Thanks again for stopping by,

I'm thankful for ALL of you!

Till next time,
Be Safe,
Shan

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Pretty Pines and Poinsettias (Try Saying That Three Times Fast) A CCMC #176

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Hey y'all! I hope this post finds you warm and dry and working your way to a fabulous Thanksgiving. It's wet here in the DMV but at least it's not cold so I'm happy about that. :-)

You know what else I'm happy about? The Pat's kicked butt last night! Boy they started off slow.... I mean s.l.o.w., but my boy Tom and the rest of the team kicked it into high gear and tore it up! Ok, so now the obligatory football references are done until Friday. Sorry, It's a Football heavy week.

Wanna know what else it's heavy with? Stampin! I decided to try my hand at another challenge. I saw this one over at Create with Connie and Mary.
                                         

I've really been wanting to do more challenges because I think they will help to get this Scaredy Cat out of her Hidey Hole. Challenges are especially hard for me because of my stamping OCD, more on that tomorrow, but that's one of the reasons why I want to do more and to do well at them. So here's another attempt. Let's see what everyone thinks.

Here's my card-

       
I used the Pines and Poinsettias stamp set and the Holly Berry DSP. I just love how they go together so seamlessly!

I started with a base of Real Red c/s. Next I used a layer a Very Vanilla c/s but do you see what I did? I made my own co-ordinating DSP, just like EWT #6, using the holly berries and the swirls/flourish from the Pines and Poinsettias stamp set. I colored the holly berries with my Stampin Write Markers in Real Red and Wild Wasabi and then stamped off once before stamping randomly(augh) around the c/s. For the swirls/flourish I inked up with CrumbCake, stamped off and then stamped randomly (I know Random, AUGH!!!) around the c/s. I then edged the piece softly with CrumbCake for a soft finish. If you ask me, Stampin' Up should have made this part of their collection! Just saying....

For the color block panel I used another panel of Real Red c/s and this time I used Stampin' Up's DSP. I tell you what though, their paper is sooo pretty it was hard to decide which papers to pick! Since I had edged the bottom layer with CrumbCake I edged all of these, as well as the Real Red panel, too. I adhered the DSP with Tombow so it would stay put and went to work on my center medallion.

I colored the flowers with my Stampin' Write Markers in Real Red, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, and So Saffron for shading and the greenery in Wild Wasabi and Certainly Celery. I used the Large Scallop Circle Border Punch to punch it out. I sponged the edges in CrumbCake and then, I'm excited to say....wait for it... Tink is in the HOUSE!!!!!!

Here's a closer view-

Just a little Dazzling Diamonds around the edges and on the flowers and a little rhinestone in the center of the Poinsettia to finish it off. I think she must have been tired because she wasn't running on 100% Pixie Dust at this point. A few dimensionals to pop it up, a few more under the entire color block panel and the front was done.

And because the outside shouldn't have all the fun-

I stamped the sentiment from Four for the Holidays in Soft Suede, on a background of Very Vanilla c/s. This is really becoming one of my go to colors. The flower in the bottom is actually the the second stamp of the one from the medallion on the front. Tink was all revved up for this one and hit it full force.... so pretty! I missed her!

Well, that's it for today's card. Pretty Pines and Poinsettias, Pretty Pines and Poinsettias, Pretty Pines and Poinsettias, Augh!!!!!!!  Just Kidding.... :-) Well only about the saying it 3 times part!

Hope you enjoyed the card. Here's what you need to make it-
Cardstock- Real Red, Very Vanilla, Holly Berry DSP
Ink- Classic Ink Pad- CrumbCake , Soft Suede, Stampin' Write Markers- Real Red, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, So Saffron
Punch- Large Scallop Circle Border Punch
Accessories-  Tombow, Dimensionals, Two-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Rhinestones, Stampin Sponges

You can get everything you need to make this card or others at my Online Store 24/7.

And while you're there don't forget- to check out our Online Extravaganza-




Online Extravaganza, Stampin' Up!'s annual sale to kick off the holiday shopping season, will begin 
Monday, November 21, 2011, and run through Wednesday, November 30, 2011.
You may place orders either through my Online Store or by e-mailing me directly at angelshannona@gmail.com

You'll want to be sure to log in to my Online Store beginning  
Monday, November 21, to take advantage of great savings!

-FREE digital downloads valued at $40 when you buy My Digital Studio Express,
-60 percent off select Designer Fabrics,
-30 percent off an exclusive ribbon bundle!

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 see you back here tomorrow.
Till then I hope you stay warm and dry!

Happy Stamping,
Be Safe,
Shan

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I Love You Guys!

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Hey y'all! I hope you're having a great Monday! It's a bit overcast and drizzly here in the DMV but it just can't detract from the weekend I had and the week to come... I sure hope you feel the same way!

Now you know since it's Monday let's get the Football out of the way so we can get to the really exciting stuff, not that Football's not exciting, really exciting, but OH MY GOODNESS is the Stamping so EXCITING this week. So, here we go, College Ball, HELLO! The South Rose Again this weekend! Yes Sirree! All my southern teams showed up. LSU, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Miami, Auburn. FSU came to play but sadly lost in the final minutes in a hotly contested game against VA for the first loss to Va ever at home, but what a game!

In NFL play yesterday the biggest happiness maker was the Dallas-Washington game. The simple fact that Dallas won meant Washington lost and if you follow my blog at all you know that means I was doubly happy as I have 3 teams, The Cowbows, The Patriots, and anyone who plays the Redskins. Tonight, the Pats play so we'll see if tomorrow finds me as happy or just tired from staying up late to watch MNF.

Now, on to the really good stuff! :-)

The weekend started off on Friday night with the evening off from work (Score!) and me getting to go to a special team event for team members who had promoted in the past few months with my upline Robin, and Jan Wakeland. (Double Score!) What a treat!!!! We got to have dinner, chat, stamp and make a project. I walked in to hear, "Were your ears burning?", but more on that later in the week..... It was a fun evening, filled with laughter and friendship.

Saturday started bright and early and we had a huge meeting, with Jan, and people who drove almost 2 1/2 hours to come. We had swaps and contests and give-aways. It was Fabulous. Lots of great ideas and lots of tips, plus we got to do make and takes so really  a fun day. So many really creative people, I was just blown away by some of the talent, and getting to meet and connect with these fabulous ladies, what a bonus!

Yesterday, I got to decompress, watch some ball and stamp. Silly me, I didn't take pictures of my swap, so I had to do another one so I could take a picture of it. SMH!!!!! Also, I did a card for another sketch challenge that I'll post tomorrow.  And on top of all that, as if that wasn't enough fabulousness, I got an e-mail from my momma, who follows me on here, that said she was proud of how I was doing with this. Well, it just doesn't get any better than that, now does it? So you see, it was a really good weekend. I hope yours was as good as mine!

So, are you ready for today's card? It's my swap from this weekend's event. We did Valentine's themed swaps. I know it seems a little early since it's not even Christmas, but you know it's never to early to show a little love and I Love You Guys!!!!!!!

It's really my first punch art card, although I didn't plan it to be that way. It also seemed a really simplistic idea until I had to do 32 of them.... I wasn't sure I liked the design so much then. Just kidding, I'm still in love with it. The only variance from the original idea was the addition of the polka dot embossing folder for the background. (Which was Robin Merriman's idea, Thanks Girl!)

The concept was being wrapped up in love's embrace, you know like a big hug.
I started with a card base of Whisper White cut at 4 1/4 x 8 1/2 folded at 4 1/4 to make a square. I then layered that with a piece of 4 inch square Whisper White cardstock I had run through the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder. I adhered this to the front with Tombow.

I used my Word Window punch (I keep telling you how it's my fav) to make the arms out of Whisper White cardstock and angled them over the front of my Large Heart, punched from Red Glimmer Paper, and just folded them up the back. They fit perfectly, no trimming required. They overlapped slightly in the front and I adhered them there with Tombow. I then adhered the Small Punched Glimmer Heart with Tombow.  I used 3 dimensionals to raise it up and adhered it to the card front.

For the sentiment I used one of the sayings from the stamp set Three Little Words. I inked it in Basic Black, stamped in on Whisper White cardstock and punched it out with the Word Window Punch. I then threaded it back in (using scraps of cardstock) and trimmed the edges to make it smaller and layered it on Glimmer Red Paper I punched with the Word Window Punch. I Tombowed the two layers together and then finished it off with two little Rhinestones and then popped the whole thing up with two dimensionals.

Here's the inside-

I added another sweet little glimmer heart to the inside. Now all that's waiting is a hand written love letter. It's a simple design, but it got a good response at the swap. I hope you like it as well. Like I said, It's really easy to make, as long as you're not making them in bulk! LOL!

Well, that's today's bit o' love for today. I really do love and appreciate all of you for stopping by here! It makes my day. I hope I bring you just a little bit of the joy you bring me!

Don't forget today starts Online Extravaganza....
JUST ANNOUNCED!!!



Online Extravaganza, Stampin' Up!'s annual sale to kick off the holiday shopping season, will begin
Monday, November 21, 2011, and run through Wednesday, November 30, 2011.
You may place orders either through my Online Store or by e-mailing me directly at stampwithrobin@yahoo.com

You'll want to be sure to log in to my Online Store on
Monday, November 21, to take advantage of great savings!

-FREE digital downloads valued at $40 when you buy My Digital Studio Express,
-60 percent off select Designer Fabrics,
-30 percent off an exclusive ribbon bundle!

And WOW - look at this!
There will be two items on sale for 24 hours only (November 21, 12:01 AM - 11:59 PM [MT]) That's 2:01 AM - 1:59 PM EST
-so make sure you don't miss the first 24 hours of Online Extravaganza!

Today's card supply list
Cardstock- Whisper White, Red Glimmer Paper
Ink-Basic- Black
Big Shot- Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder
Extras-Word Window Punch,  Large Heart Punch, Small Heart Punch, Basic Rhinestones, Tombow, Dimensionals

That's all for today. Don't forget to check out the specials in the online extravaganza. I hope you'll come back tomorrow and see the card I have for you.

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 then,

Be Safe,
Shan

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Merry Christmas Stampin 411 SSC 229 Part 2

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Hey Y'all! I hope today finds you warm and dry! That is surely NOT the case here in the DMV! Had I not seen the weather and known this mess was coming I would have been afraid I brought this mess upon us by mentioning those two bad Horrible 4-Letter words the other day.... you know the c word and the s word. UGH! It was so cooooold and windy and then the rain started at the slug line this morning...The good news though is that at least it made me feel like it was winter, so I could feel good about posting a Christmas card! Bright side of things, right?

So, for those of you that are new here, I am somewhat (A Lot) technologically challenged. In fact, that I have managed to get to this point in my blog without any major problems is a minor miracle in it's own right. I'm sure there is probably a way to have linked yesterday's post and today's but I sure don't know it. SMH.... Thanks for hanging with me as I figure this stuff out! :-) Yesterday's post is linked to the Stampin 411 page, I'm posting today for anyone who doesn't see that page. Hope that makes sense.

I'm a Scaredy Cat. Did you read the name of my blog? But I'm trying to not be such a big one at least and I entered a challenge a few weeks ago. This week though, I think I lost my ever-luvin-mind! (What? It's a real southern word) I found and entered two of them.

Yes, I said two. On the same day. Like I said... Lost my ever-luvin-mind! The good news is when I saw the sketches I had a plan in mind, right away. Unfortunately, they both had the same central element. So a little tweaking had to occur, but I got to go home and stamp & play all evening! SCORE! I have to say I was really pleased with how they both turned out.

This whole challenge thing though is like being back in High School or like being Single and Dating again. It's soooo intimidating and stressful! (Especially for us Scaredy Cats! Right?!?) It's not just me is it? I mean you're putting yourself out there, exposing yourself to everyone. Is it good enough? Will they like it? Will they get it? Augh! Is it in line with what others are doing or totally off base? Oh, but maybe if I try enough, it won't be as hard, right?

Well, Stampin 411 has been a challenge that I have followed for some time. I really like it because they give you a suggestion for the sizes of the different layers. I don't know about you, but this is one of the hardest parts for me, trying to figure out the measurements for different layouts, so this really helps simplify things for me. You can even go to the site and print out the challenges. I find it a great resource for card layouts.

Here's this weeks sketch-




I saw this and thought of the Poinsettias from the WOW Christmas Card Class from my upline Robin Merriman. Now that it's so C--D outside and making me feel Christmassy it seems like the perfect card too!
However, it was 70 on Tuesday when I was making it. *TEAR* I want summer back!

Here's my card-

I stuck right to their sketch and suggested dimensions except for the Wild Wasabi strip which I cut long and trimmed down.

I started with a base of Real Red cardstock. My next layer was Holy Berry DSP  that I had run through the Big Shot in my Lattice Embossing Folder. I love the texture it gives it.This is absolutely one of my favorite folders! I then used a strip of Wild Wasabi I embossed with the Snow Burst Folder. I had to do this piece twice. You definitely have to cut your material big and trim down when you use this folder if you want precise sizing. I adhered both of those layers down with Tombow so they would stay put.

The next layer of Real Red and Very Vanilla is Tombowed together and I heat embossed the Merry Christmas from Four for the Holidays in Gold Embossing Powder and then popped it all up with dimensionals.

The beautiful poinsettia was from Robin's class. Have you been to her blog? Check her out.... She has such Amazing stuff!....But, wait till after you're finished here. I was so excited I was able to turn it so it fit on the card, and in the envelope. It looks like it extends past the edge at the top, but it doesn't really.

Here's the inside-

I stamped the greeting in gold and was done.  For those of you that know me, Yes, I forgot to stamp something else on the inside. Truth be told, at this point I was tired. I had to remember to stamp the greeting, since it wasn't part of the challenge. LOL.

And Tink has been on Vacation. I think there was enough shimmer on the front of the card, though. I'm sure she will be back in full force soon.

I hope you liked today's card. It's starting to feel like Christmas around here so there will be more coming. If you liked it, 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. :) 

If you need supplies to make today's card or cards like it you can shop in my online store 24/7.

Card recipe:
Cardstock- Real Red, Very Vanilla, Wild Wasabi, Holly Berry DSP, Red Glimmer Paper
Ink- Versamark
Big Shot- Lattice Embossing Folder, Snow Burst Embossing Folder
Punch- Blossom Petals Builder Punch, 1 1/4 inch Circle Punch
Misc- Vintage Brad, Mat Pack, Piercing Tool, Tombow Adhesive, Stampin Dimensionals, Gold Embossing Powder, Heat Embossing Tool

Well, that's it for today.  If we don't see each other tomorrow I hope you have a great weekend and get to spend it with friends and family and of course Stamping. I'm going to spend tonight finishing up my swaps for this weekend's big meeting and Valentine's themed Swap, hard to believe that's what we're working on already...

Till next time,

Be Safe,
Shan



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Merry Christmas- Stampin 411 Challenge SSC 229

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Hey y'all - No, I'm not posting twice in one day. (I wish) I'm just putting this picture up so I can link to it today. The challenge ends tomorrow morning at 8am and with class tonight, well, if I don't submit it now I might miss it... and I think it's too pretty to miss. Hope you think so too. ****Note**** I came back and edited this to include the blog entry. See below the picture and initial sign off. Thanks! Shan****

Here's my card-

Here's the Stampin 411 Sketch-

I'll be back tomorrow with the blog to go with it....

Till then-

Be Safe,
Shan


Hey Y'all! Here's the continuation from the above post.
I hope today finds you warm and dry! That is surely NOT the case here in the DMV! Had I not seen the weather and known this mess was coming I would have been afraid I brought this mess upon us by mentioning those two bad Horrible 4-Letter words the other day.... you know the c word and the s word. UGH! It was so cooooold and windy and then the rain started at the slug line this morning...The good news though is that at least it made me feel like it was winter, so I could feel good about posting a Christmas card! Bright side of things, right?

So, for those of you that are new here, I am somewhat (A Lot) technologically challenged. In fact, that I have managed to get to this point in my blog without any major problems is a minor miracle in it's own right. I'm sure there is probably a way to have linked yesterday's post and today's but I sure don't know it. SMH.... Thanks for hanging with me as I figure this stuff out! :-) Yesterday's post is linked to the Stampin 411 page, I'm posting today for anyone who doesn't see that page. Hope that makes sense.

I'm a Scaredy Cat. Did you read the name of my blog? But I'm trying to not be such a big one at least and I entered a challenge a few weeks ago. This week though, I think I lost my ever-luvin-mind! (What? It's a real southern word) I found and entered two of them.

Yes, I said two. On the same day. Like I said... Lost my ever-luvin-mind! The good news is when I saw the sketches I had a plan in mind, right away. Unfortunately, they both had the same central element. So a little tweaking had to occur, but I got to go home and stamp & play all evening! SCORE! I have to say I was really pleased with how they both turned out.

This whole challenge thing though is like being back in High School or like being Single and Dating again. It's soooo intimidating and stressful! (Especially for us Scaredy Cats! Right?!?) It's not just me is it? I mean you're putting yourself out there, exposing yourself to everyone. Is it good enough? Will they like it? Will they get it? Augh! Is it in line with what others are doing or totally off base? Oh, but maybe if I try enough, it won't be as hard, right?

Well, Stampin 411 has been a challenge that I have followed for some time. I really like it because they give you a suggestion for the sizes of the different layers. I don't know about you, but this is one of the hardest parts for me, trying to figure out the measurements for different layouts, so this really helps simplify things for me. You can even go to the site and print out the challenges. I find it a great resource for card layouts.

Here's this weeks sketch-




I saw this and thought of the Poinsettias from the WOW Christmas Card Class from my upline Robin Merriman. Now that it's so C--D outside and making me feel Christmassy it seems like the perfect card too!
However, it was 70 on Tuesday when I was making it. *TEAR* I want summer back!

Here's my card-

I stuck right to their sketch and suggested dimensions except for the Wild Wasabi strip which I cut long and trimmed down.

I started with a base of Real Red cardstock. My next layer was Holy Berry DSP  that I had run through the Big Shot in my Lattice Embossing Folder. I love the texture it gives it.This is absolutely one of my favorite folders! I then used a strip of Wild Wasabi I embossed with the Snow Burst Folder. I had to do this piece twice. You definitely have to cut your material big and trim down when you use this folder if you want precise sizing. I adhered both of those layers down with Tombow so they would stay put.

The next layer of Real Red and Very Vanilla is Tombowed together and I heat embossed the Merry Christmas from Four for the Holidays in Gold Embossing Powder and then popped it all up with dimensionals.

The beautiful poinsettia was from Robin's class. Have you been to her blog? Check her out.... She has such Amazing stuff!....But, wait till after you're finished here. I was so excited I was able to turn it so it fit on the card, and in the envelope. It looks like it extends past the edge at the top, but it doesn't really.

Here's the inside-

I stamped the greeting in gold and was done.  For those of you that know me, Yes, I forgot to stamp something else on the inside. Truth be told, at this point I was tired. I had to remember to stamp the greeting, since it wasn't part of the challenge. LOL.

And Tink has been on Vacation. I think there was enough shimmer on the front of the card, though. I'm sure she will be back in full force soon.

I hope you liked today's card. It's starting to feel like Christmas around here so there will be more coming. If you liked it, 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. :)

If you need supplies to make today's card or cards like it you can shop in my online store 24/7.

Card recipe:
Cardstock- Real Red, Very Vanilla, Wild Wasabi, Holly Berry DSP, Red Glimmer Paper
Ink- Versamark
Big Shot- Lattice Embossing Folder, Snow Burst Embossing Folder
Punch- Blossom Petals Builder Punch, 1 1/4 inch Circle Punch
Misc- Vintage Brad, Mat Pack, Piercing Tool, Tombow Adhesive, Stampin Dimensionals, Gold Embossing Powder, Heat Embossing Tool

Well, that's it for today.  If we don't see each other tomorrow I hope you have a great weekend and get to spend it with friends and family and of course Stamping. I'm going to spend tonight finishing up my swaps for this weekend's big meeting and Valentine's themed Swap, hard to believe that's what we're working on already...

Till next time,

Be Safe,
Shan


Pin It