BOO! Happy Halloween to You

Pin It
Happy Halloween Y'all!
I hope everyone is warm and dry today and has their power back on. For those of you not on the East Coast or who didn't see the news this weekend (or the WeatherChannel) we had a Nor'easter come through. Let me tell you, it is still October and it is NOT supposed to snow in October. Yes, I used that awful 4-letter word, but notice I used small letters and didn't give it Caps...that'll show it!

Well, the wet stuff hit here as I was on the way to my WOW Christmas Card class at my team leader, Robin Merriman's house. If you haven't checked her blog out, check her out here at http://www.trinityde​signstudio.blogspot.​com/   She has some really amazing stuff! Well, it continued on and thankfully, moved right on up the coast sparing the DMV most of the damage. Some of our outlying areas had up to 13 inches though.

The tragedies continued yesterday as Miami somehow managed to throw away the lead they had at halftime to lose in the last 5 minutes, Brady and the Pats barely managed to show up for their game (hopefully, they have now learned that onside kicks simply do not turn out well for their franchise), and the Cowboys, God love the South and the Cowboys, well, they finally showed up to their own game and at least got on the board.

There were however 3 high points to my day yesterday-
1- The Redskins showed up to their game only to let their QB lay on the ground under the opposing team (tee-hee) and they never made it on the score-board
2- I got breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next 2 weeks cooked, packaged, and frozen including extra homemade Italian Wedding Soup. (Yea me!)
3- I got to Stamp!

Every Halloween I see all of our cute Halloween stamps and somehow I still have none. I still don't know how that has happened. SMH! I generally try to use all SU materials, but seeing as I didn't have any cute little Halloween Stamps, and I  had these, I made do. I vow to get Halloween stamps as soon as the catalog comes out next year!

My sweetie loves Halloween. He loves to decorate for it and to see the kids all dressed up, so I knew I had to make a special card for him. So here's his card-

I used a base of Basic Black cardstock. I layered that with Whisper White and then a layer from our Frightful Sight DSP. I knotted and tied a length of black grosgrain ribbon on top of the DSP, wrapping and securing the edges underneath with SNAIL adhesive. This whole layer was secured with Tombow (you know how much I love that stuff!) to keep it secure.

I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to make sure my little fellas were aligned and spaced just like I wanted them. I tell you I don't know what I would do without that thing. It's so funny that at WOW this weekend some of my team-members that were also there were calling me OCD. I do believe that's my new nick-name. Seriously though, that thing is a Must-Have in your stamping toolbox!

I colored in my little dudes with my Stampin Write markers and at first only my shimmery dude got a little visit from Tink, and then I thought why should he be the only one?

"Spread The LOVE Tink!!!!!!"  I said, and just like that, look how AMAZING they all look!

Here's the inside-

I figured the boys shouldn't have all the fun, so I let Tink have at it here too, and made my sweet little witchy girl sooo cute.

Well, I hope you liked today's card. I hope my sweetie likes it too! I'm off to do work and study (I've got a project due Wed.) I'll be back at the end of the week for another installment of End of the Week Technique and maybe earlier if I can get a few minutes. 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. :)

Hope you all have a great day. Don't forget today is the last day to get your FREE Big Shot or FREE $100.00 in merchandise for signing up as a Demonstrator. No Tricks just Treats! The offer ends tonight at Midnight MST. Contact me so we can get you your FREE Treats!

Till next time,

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

End of the Week Technique #5 A G3 (Ghostly Trio) Halloween Purse

Pin It
Hey y'all! Hope everyone is warm and dry and working their way towards the weekend. Here in the DMV we are warm but wait... you guessed it def. not dry and if the good old weatherman is to be believed, that Big Bad Four letter word is on it's way! No, I don't mean more Rain, and yes I know it's a four letter word too, (I'm from the south we're used to rain, but it's warm rain and the sun shines there before, and after and sometimes even during the rain!) I'm talking , cue the doomy music (dum - dum - dadum.... SNOW!!!!! But, until then, maybe today's project will warm your heart and make you smile. It makes me smile every time I look at it!

First though, did you see yesterday's post and my cute little fellas? If not, I hope you'll take a moment and give it a quick look. It was the first time I had entered a challenge and it was for Carrie Gaskin's Ka-Pow Creative Challenge and I was so scared because her stuff is sooo Amazing! Let me just tell you, Carrie Gaskin liked my card and my little guys! I couldn't believe it! She left me a comment and everything. How excited was I? It was like my birthday and Christmas had come early. Seriously! Sooo Cool! Hopefully you like them too because they are appearing today on the project that actually came first and inspired yesterday's challenge card.

So, the End of the Week Techniques aren't always going to be a stamping technique. They might be a new or differentt way to fold a card or a craft technique that is either new to me or one that I'm either not really proficient at, haven't used in a while or want to highlight for someone that might be a beginning stamper, like the use of blender pens with Pastels.

Today's technique is making a cute little purse out of a 6 x 6 piece of DSP. Once again I CASEd France Martin . She really does have the cutest stuff! One thing I love about being a Stampin' Up demonstrator is everyone wants you to succeed, and they don't mind sharing ideas with each other. How cool is that?!? I just say "Thank goodness I don't have to come up with all these ideas on my own!". She has a video showing how to make these. You can see it HERE. I suggest watching the video as you make your purse.
On Full Screen.
A couple of times.
Just a thought.
Ask me Why I think that. (tee-hee-hee)

Ready to see my little purse? Drum Roll Puh-lease.......

How Stinking Cute is this? Ooooooh! I just wish I had a Big Girl One to carry around! If you saw yesterday's post, you know Tink got ahold of my 3 little fellas and the medallion their sitting on, and I really think I'm going to have to let her have free rein to blast these 3 as well. But even without Tink's help how precious!

I made a few changes to my purse from the video. My straps are just a tad bit wider, find what works for you. I didn't have a large oval punch for the flap so I cut a rectangle with my paper cutter. I don't have the measurements with me, but I think it was about 2 1/2- 3" long x 1" wide. Here again, make it your own. I also didn't have a scalloped oval so I went with my trusty ol' scallop circle and punched out a piece of Basic Black cardstock. See the grey on the edge? It's not grey at all. It's Whisper White Craft ink. You know what? I've had that thing since I stamped the first time over 4 years ago and it's like brand new. Our products ROCK! I drug the edge of my punched circle across the edge of my pad and it gave that effect. It also makes it look like I have a grey scallop circle with a black circle layer, bonus!

Now for my 3G's- No I'm not talking ATT or Verizon, lol, I'm talking my seriously cute Ghostly Trio, that I came up with. They are so easy. I used my small oval punch and Whisper White cardstock and punched 3 ovals and using the small scallop circle punch, snipped the bottom of the ovals and there you go, instant Ghost Shapes just like the ones on the DSP. I then lightly sponged my little dudes with some Basic Grey for dimension and used my Real Red Stampin' Writer to make their eyes. I used Tombow adhesive to secure them. (Couldn't have them floating away) Seriously, I would say they couldn't get any cuter except I know what's gonna happen once Tink gets ahold of them tonight!

Now you might ask, "Shan, how in the world did you get that little-itty-bitty oval into the scallop punch in just the right spot to punch it?" Well I'm glad you asked! How often do you have strips of paper left over, maybe a couple of inches long, a couple of inches wide, and you think to yourself - "This is not big enough to use on a card or for a punch, I'll just toss it."?
NOOOOOOOOOO! Don't Toss It!!!!!!!
Take that strip and use it as an extender strip. Just take a little tiny dab of SNAIL and put it on the end of one of those strips and then stick the top edge of your oval to this and just slide it right down into your punch, position it where you want and punch away. Doesn't get any easier than this.

Tip- This works especially well for our builder punches like the Cupcake Punch, Stocking Punch etc. I love those punches but I always hated the waste of trying to punch one thing, especially at the bottom, and having to punch everything else out. This way you just cut your cardstock to the size you need, or if it's already stamped your stamped image, stick it to your extender strip, slide it into position, punch and all you've punched is your intended piece and the strip you would have thrown away to start with. Fabulous! Try it next time you use one of these punches. You'll thank me, I just know it.

Here's the inside-

As you can see, plenty big to hold some chocolatey, peanut buttery loving or other forms of goodness.

Tip #2 When you do this project with pattern paper like my 3G's before you score, gently roll the edges up to see how your pattern will end up. Ask me how I know!
The DSP's used in the video didn't have a right or wrong pattern to them so I didn't think about this and the first purse I made was cute but my little dudes were flying across the bag instead of sitting up looking at me. So the second time around, I had to stop and think as I re-watched the video to see which way I needed to have my DSP placed on the Simply Scored so my little guys would be sitting instead of flying. Like I said, still cute, and most of the time this will not be an issue for you, but just something to be aware, just in case.

Well, that's it for this edition of End of the Week Technique. Did you learn something new? I hope so! I know I did. I also know this is going to be something that I use throughout the year for cute little go to gifts. Seriously, I took a 6 x 6 piece of DSP and some scraps and I ended up with this piece of cuteness. You betcha I'm gonna be doing this again. As always, if you try this, send me a pic or a link, I'd love to see it!

If you need supplies to make this project or projects like this one, come shop with me. You can do it 24/7. It's easy, you don't have to get dressed up, no make-up is required, heck you don't even have to get out of your PJ's and best of all....you don't have to pay those outrageous prices at the pump. Just click HERE.

Also don't forget, only 4 days left to get your FREE Big Shot or $100 dollars in FREE merchandise. It's easy to do and Absolutely NO STRINGS Attached. Join my Stampin Up team and enjoy all the benefits of team membership plus your FREE Big Shot or FREE $100 Dollars in Merchandise but only through the end of this month.

Till next time,
Be Safe,
Shan

Pin It

A Ghostly Challenge ( KKC004)

Pin It
Hey y'all! It's Hump Day Woo-Hoo! Hope everyone is having a great week!

I was going through my read feeds yesterday and Carrie Gaskins' site, Artistic Avenger.com, popped up. If you haven't checked her site out, I highly recommend it. Most of her stuff is like Way over the top, stuff I could never hope to come up with on a daily basis, but really Amazing! Anyways, she has a new challenge that she recently started called the Ka-Pow Creative Challenge. Here's this week's challenge sketch-

Now, I have wanted to try challenges before but have you seen the name of my blog? I'm a Scaredy Cat! What if it's not good enough? What if no-one likes it? What if they hate it? What if it sucks? What if it looks like a kindergartners craft project next to a Monet? What if no-one can tell it looks like the sketch? Augh! I'm stressing out just thinking about it!

Well, I did say, I was going to try and step out of my comfort zone and since I had just made a project (you'll see it tomorrow) that had a scalloped circle, and was pretty cute, if I do say so myself (and hopefully I'm not the only one who will say so) I thought this might be the perfect challenge to try. That being said, I was extremely, intimidated to be entering Carrie Gaskins' challenge! Did you read what I said about her stuff? Did you pause and go to her site earlier? (No? Well, make sure you do, just make sure to finish this too!) Have you seen my very basic blog and cards/projects? But, in the spirit of Halloween (the season of Scaredy Cats), I am not just stepping out of my comfort zone I am jumping of the ledge!

Here's my card-

I used a base of Basic Black cardstock 4 1/4 x 8 1/2  scored at 4 1/4 to make a square card. I then layered a 4 x 4 piece of Frightful Sight DSP which I used as my inspiration. I used Basic Grey cardstock cut at 3 1/2 x 1 inch and cut it out with my Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch and adhered it with SNAIL. I used my 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch to punch a piece of Basic Black cardstock. I didn't make two layers like the  sketch, it's actually black cardstock that I stroked the edges over the edge of a Whisper White Craft Ink Pad instead of sponging it on. I was actually just trying for a different effect and it ended up looking like I have two layers. (kinda cool, huh?) My 3 little ghosts were my own idea! How excited was I?!? I used the small oval and then punched the bottom with the 1 3/4" Scallop Punch. I sponged them with a little Basic Grey for dimension and then used my Real Red Stampin' Write Marker to draw in their eyes. Makes them look just like the little guys on the paper huh? I adhered them to the scalloped circle using Tombow so they would really stay put, didn't want them floating away. Before I could adhere this to the card can you see what happened? That's right! Tink's back! She got the border of my scalloped circle and then she got my cute little guys and dang it if she didn't make them even cuter!
Who would have imagined that was even possible?!?
Well, I just stuck those cute little guys to the front of my card with 3 dimensionals and the front was done.

The inside is really simple. Every year I look at all the cute Halloween stamps and somehow I end up not getting any so, believe it or not I didn't have a greeting to go with my cute little card. *tear* So I improvised-

I used a 4 x 4 piece of Whisper White cardstock for the inside and took my Stampin Write Journaler pen and wrote Boo! as Neatly and Cutely as Possible. (Let's face it, I do have Nurse writing and it's a good thing I get to blog in type, 'cuz if it was penned no-one would be able to read it) :-) I then punched it out with my Word Window Punch (Luv It!) and ran a strip of SNAIL across it. You know what came next. Yep, I beat Tink to this one! The Dazzling Diamonds came out and a plain inside of a card, simply sparkles.

I hope you like today's card, but most of all I hope it inspires you to create and step out of your box whatever it might be. 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 haven't tried any challenges, try one. There are all sorts out there. Sketch challenges like this one or color challenges, Mash-up challenges. This one is actually a fairly straight forward and uncomplicated one to get your feet wet with. As always, if today's card inspired you to create, send me a link or a pic, I'd love to see it!

You can shop 24/7 for supplies to this card or others at my online store, HERE.

Thanks for stopping by! Come back tomorrow, I've got a really cute Halloween Project featuring my cute little trio.

Till then ...

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

Not So Scary Treat Holder

Pin It
Booo!
Hey Y'all. Did I get ya? :-) Just one more week till Halloween, so I thought I'd do a Halloween post today. This is a Q&E, that's right a quick and easy, little treat holder for you to whip up for that special ghoul or goblin in your life. In fact I did this yesterday while talking to one of my best friends on the phone about coming to an upcoming stamp camp and she thought it was sooo cute! And guess what, she's so excited to learn how to make it. :-)

First though- I just want to say Thanks! Thanks, to everyone that has stopped by my little blog. I was at 206 hits this morning. Not a lot I know, but to me, soooo very exciting, so thanks again! Maybe we can get a little blog candy or something going for the next big numbers (hint, hint).

So, are you ready to see today's project? Ok, Here it is-

How cute is this? Ok, so totally not my idea? Wish I could claim it, but I can't, it's totally a CASE but I don't remember the person's name. If I find it, I'll come back and put it in here.

Anyways, this is really simple. Your base is Basic Black cardstock, just run it through your Big Shot with your Top Note Die. Your next layer is a piece of Old Olive cardstock. Lay it on the Top Note Die in the middle of die and run it through. Next, pick a piece of Designer Series Paper, I used a piece from our Frightful Sight DSP Collection. (You could use this treat holder throughout the year and simply change the color combinations and DSP.) My DSP was cut at 1 1/2 x 5 and placed at the center of the top note and I ran it through the Big Shot again. Now all that was left was the assembly.

I used Tombow adhesive to really get it to stick. SNAIL will not be sticky enough. You might also try  Sticky Strip, but Tombow worked for me. Adhere your DSP to your Old Olive layer and then I lightly sponged the edges with Grey just to add a little depth. Then, adhere those two layers to the base layer with Tombow, making sure to just put the Tombow around the edges (you want to make sure to leave room to put your goodies).

I then used my Crop-a-Dile to punch small holes in the center points and put in some Black Brads. I then flipped my Crop-a-Dile over and used the other side to punch a big hole up top to run some black ribbon through. The last thing I did was take my bone folder and gently, note that word - Gently, round the inside of my pocket. This gives it some dimension and allows it to more easily accept your candy offerings. Tombow and even Sticky Strip is strong but you have to remember it's only cardstock, so be gentle. I got my Kit-Kat in there with no problem and truth be told could have put something else in there as well.

This was so cute and so Q&E, I think I'm going to stir up a batch for work and class. Get it- Stir up a batch...lol. ok. :-)

So Tinkerbell, took the night off and Goth Tink was nowhere to be found. *tear* I'm kinda sad there's no glitter anywhere. Black Glitter is def going on the wish list.

Well, that's it for today. I hope you get out your Big Shot and your Top Note and start whipping these out for your ghouls and goblins and if you don't have a Big Shot, join my team and get one for FREE! That's right I said FREE! But you only have 1 week left, just 7 little days. If you join now, there's no obligation,  no commitment, just try it out, and you get a Free Big Shot or $100.00 in Free merchandise. What do you have to lose?

Hope you enjoyed today's project. 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. :)  

Remember, you can shop in my online store 24/7, HERE to recreate this project or to create many others. Check back soon to see what else I have for you. As always if you make anything you see here, send me a link, or a pic, I'd love to see!

Be Safe,
Shan

Pin It

A Quick & Easy Irish Good Luck Wish

Pin It
Hey Y'all! Just poppin' in this morning with a quick post. (I know you're thinking " A quick post from Shan, Yeah, right!") But here it is none the less.

My dear friend James' daughter, Alexandra, who I met over the summer (such an Amazing kid!) is on her way to New York City for a Mock Trial Competition. She's a Senior in High School in Colorado and last year her team finished third in an international competition. How cool is that!?!

I just found out about it last night, so there was no time for me to make a card and send it to Alex. :'(
I decided to do the next best thing...I  would make a card, take a picture and send the pic to her dad and he could show it to her. I figure it'll show up real nice on his I-phone so it'll be almost as good as having it in her sweet little hands. (Plus, I didn't have any Good -Luck stamps (always finding something else to put on my gotta-have list) so just being able to send the card front is a plus! :-)

What's better for Luck than a 4-Leaf clover? I can't think of much, so I knew that's what I wanted to make for her. Here it is -

This is a Q&E card (Quick & Easy). Like a Clean and Simple just a step up. Both layers are Whisper White cardstock. The base is 4.25 x 8.5 scored at 4.25. I used my Simply Scored to Score it. (Can I just say I don't even put that thing up. I score all my card folds now with that instead of just folding them over. It makes for such nice clean edges. You so need to put that on your Wish List!) The second layer is 4 x 4. The frame is from a retired Stampin' Up set, Celtic Knots, that, believe it or not, I found on Craig's List a month ago for $5.00. How could I turn it down? Seriously! I inked it up with my gold ink pad and then stamped it in the center of my cardstock. I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to make sure I got it centered (Luv It!).

Tip #1- When using stamps that  are close to the size of your ink pad, to ensure you get better coverage on your stamp, lie your stamp on its back and press your ink pad down on the stamp instead of pressing the stamp into the pad. This works whether it's ink or Versamark and is especially useful for background stamps. Works like a charm!

Tip#2- When using the pigment dyes like the gold and silver give them a little extra drying time. Ask me how I know.

For my 4 leaf clover I took some Garden Green and ran it through my Big Shot in my Lattice Folder. (I am so loving that folder!) Then using my Small Heart Punch I punched out 5 hearts, yep I said 5. I then took some scrap Garden Green and cut a 1" x 1/2" for the grass and cut a little curved piece for the stem.

I cut the fringe for the grass and then ruffled it with my fingers to give it a little dimension. It got a little trim later. (You kind of have to judge for yourself how high you want your grass to be)

For the Clover- First I used my Bone Folder to Curl, Gently, Very Gently Curl the edges to give them some dimension. (I tore one and it made me very sad! *tear*)
Because the hearts are so small I couldn't really stick them to each other , I tried but it just wasn't working for me. So I punched the 5th heart and used it as a base and Tombowed just the tips of the other 4 to the base, nestled up against each other. Now I was cooking with Crisco! (Surely, you've heard that phrase before right? See, We're so educational here!)
I tucked the edge of the stem up under the last heart and tombowed it in place as well. Then I had my pretty, little, lucky, clover. But, it had to be Extra Special and Extra Lucky for Alex, so you know what we had to do... Yep, I called on the Glitter Fairy (I think Tinkerbell lives at my house) and Magically (ok with a magical sweep around the edges of my Two-Way Glue Pen and a dive into the Dazzling Diamonds Glitter Pot) my little Clover was as sparkly as Alex's smile!
A little SNAIL along the bottom of  the grass and the bottom of the stem and a Mini Glue Dot in the center back of my clover and down they went into the center of my Gold Celtic Frame and the only thing left to do was pop that layer up with dimensionals and it's ready to send over the airwaves.

What do you think? I hope she likes it!
And, I told you it would be quick today, well relatively.

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 have an Awesome weekend and that you come back next week to see what else I have from the studio for you.

As always, if you'd like to recreate this card or others you can shop in my online store, HERE, 24/7.

Till next time,
Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

End of the Week Technique #4 - Making Your Own Texture Plates

Pin It
Hey y'all! I hope everyone is doing good today and is excited to be seeing the week coming to an end. I am going to dare to say it (although I am only whispering it for fear that God may overhear, he's busy with other stuff so hopefully he's not paying me too much mind) the sun is trying to peak out today! It's cold though. I almost had to put on my gloves as I read my book in the slug line (that's a topic for another post).

But weak sun is better than no sun right? Yesterday I posted on my FB, that with all the rain we have been getting I should either be meeting my cold, hard bodied, immortal, sparkly, true love or my hot-blooded, hard bodied, long-lived, shape-shifting, true love. LOL. Boy, did that set off a Team Edward- Team Jacob volley of comments. :-) Anyways, I hope you are warm and dry wherever you are!

Are you loving the End of the Week Techniques? I am loving the challenge of it! But the name is a little long to keep writing in the blog. I say we find a way to shorten it. EOTWT? EWT? Someone help me out here. Please?!?!?!?!?! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I would really appreciate it! Thanks!

So anyways, I was trolling one of my favorite sites a while back, Stamp and Scrap with Frenchie, click HERE to go there, (I just love her stuff!) and found a video on how to make your own texture plates. Well I thought "How stinking cool is that?" and knew I would need to try it. If you want to check out the video, watch it HERE.

Here's my card. For those of you that know me, it seems like lately all I've been doing is running around in circles like one of my studio assistants chasing their tails, and sometimes it's all I can do to smile. So the circle template seemed like the perfect choice for this card.

I used a base of Poppy Parade and my new Circles Template. Love it! (Instructions to follow in just a minute.) I punched a flower with my Flower Punch in Poppy Parade and one from the circle pattern paper from the Just Eat Cake DSP So Pretty! Then I stamped the sentiment smile in Poppy Parade and stamped it out using my 3/4" circle punch. The stamp set is unfortunately retired but it was one of the first I ever purchased and it fit my needs. We have plenty that would also fit here perfectly, you can look in my online catalog to find one you like. I used my bone folder to curl the edges for a little dimension and adhered all 3 layers with SNAIL.

For the inside I used another stamp from the same stamp and of course had to make it pop, to make my self smile. :-)

I stamped the image with Poppy Parade and then, you know what I did, but for those of you that might be new here.... I used my Two-Way Glue Pen and my Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to outline the image. Why? Why Not? The inside should be just as pretty as the outside! It's hard to see, but I traced the words HAPPY in glitter too. It makes me happy every time I see it. For some reason, it looks like the glitter is knocked off in the right upper corner of the flower but it's not it's just the way the light is hitting the picture. I tried to get a better picture of it here.

I think it's so nice since I can't afford all the diamonds I want in life, Stampin' Up at least lets me have all the Bling I can stand!

Now for the Technique- Did you watch the video? She makes it all so easy!

So, I made two templates- the circle and a star one too. Oi! Can I tell you how covered in Tombow my fingers were? It really is best to lay everything out first. Even then, you may come back and find out you're not real happy with the layout. Ask me how I know?

For those of you that know me- You know how much I love the word Random. And by Love, I mean Loath. Like really, Detest. As in, Can't stand! Seriously, it distresses me. The OCD in me can't stand it. Is it random enough, does it look too symmetrical, not enough, does it look too close, too far, too staged, AUGH!!!!!!!
Well, as you will see, the circle one turned out ok but even with planning the star one still turned out with an almost even row right down the left hand side. SMH! The nice thing about the plates being the size they are is our cards are rarely that size. This leaves us room to turn our cardstock multiple ways to get different impressions each time.

Here's how my Impressions Plates turned out-

Using my Big Shot and #2 Circles and #2 Stars Dies and the Cardboard backpieces from my DSP packs I cut out the following pieces.

I used the 3 smallest circles for this, and cut out 4 of each circle twice so I had a total of 8 of each size circle. I then glued them together two at at time with Tombow adhesive and  then arranged them on my board in an arrangement I liked and then glued them down one at a time. It works better this way so you keep the pattern you like. You let it cure for 24 hours and then you gather all your equipment and make your card.
It gave me this embossed image-

And this debossed image-

I did the same thing with the stars- the 3 smallest stars, punched out 4 of each star twice so I had a total of 8 of each size. I then glued them together two at at time with Tombow adhesive and  then arranged them on my board in an arrangement I liked and then glued them down one at a time. It works better this way so you keep the pattern you like. You let it cure for 24 hours and then you gather all your equipment and make your card. More on that in a moment....

Here's the stars emboss-

And the stars deboss-

Pretty cool huh? I like that both sides are so pretty you have to choose which side you want to pick!

Well, let me just tell you, I was so excited to do this project I did not fully listen to the video and make sure I had everything I needed to do the project. I didn't have the Silicone pad for the Big Shot. So there I was, calling Michael's all over the region (I know, be my best customer, buy from myself, but I wanted to do my project NOW!!!!), over the Columbus Day weekend, and no one had it! AUGH!!!! Well, necessity is the mother of all invention, so I made do. It's not the best, but it made do and trust me I am buying the pad from Stampin' Up because this one is not holding up, but dangit if I didn't take my Mouse Pad right off my computer desk and cut it to fit my Big Shot platform and use it to run through with my card. It was a reeeeealllly snug fit and like I said one I won't be doing any more (Don't try this at home kids!) I just had to make my pretty little card! And it is pretty, don't you think!

So that's it for this week's edition of End of the Week Technique. I hope you like the card and the technique. I hope you learned something new. If you did, leave me a comment. Better yet send me a picture, I would love to see your work.

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. :)

Don't forget to stop by Frenchie's site too! She's fabulous!

As always you can shop 24/7 in my online store HERE to get everything you need to make this card and many more.

Till next time,

Be Safe,
Shannon Pin It

Letters to Santa Swaps

Pin It
Hey y'all. Happy Monday! I hope you're all having a good day. It's not raining here, (that's coming tomorrow,surprise, surprise), the Redskins lost, the Patriots won and even though the Cowboys lost to the Pats it was a close game so all in all, not bad for a Monday here in the good ole DMV. I hope you're able to say the same.

Are you ready to get to today's cards? I have 3 to show you. Yep, I said 3! Yesterday we had our team meeting and made fall wreaths with our Simply Scored Tools (It's so Amazing). The wreath is too, it's just a love, hate relationship. Class info to come later, and pictures too. Anyways, we had our meeting and I was Swap hostess and I chose Holiday Stamp Cards as the theme because I thought it would be a great opportunity to get some ideas for upcoming classes. We have such amazing stampers in my team and I knew not only would they make great cards, but that I would be challenged to deliver amazing cards as well.

One day I was cruising You-Tube for ideas and saw this card and knew I wanted to CASE it and when it came time for our swap I knew it was time. It's definitely one that you will need to watch the video for to get the measurements and cutting just right. I had to watch it a couple of times. I tweaked it just the tiniest bit to make it my own and am really excited to show it to you. You can see the original video HERE.

TIP(S)-  For making these cards come out awesome!
1.-When you first make this card make it with the video. Don't try to do it from memory. Ask me how I know!
2- Write the measurements down! They are NOT regular measurements. Don't think you can just remember them. Ask me how I know!
3-See how that center piece is angled? Does it remind you of High School Geometry? Yeah, Well I can save your live 30 ways from Sunday and you'd never know it had been in danger, but I can't balance my check book with out my I-phone App so don't get me started on too much mathematical, (even cutting these cards is too much sometimes) Well, anyways. it's one of those Geometry shapes, and you can stand it up like it is now or you can lay it on it's side. Don't lay it on it's side! It will only Confuse you and cause none of your pieces to fit and cause you to doubt that you cut your pieces correctly and cause you to cut everything out again. Trust me on this!!!!!!   Ask me how I know!
4. Last but not least, if you're using different DSP for the sides make sure you always cut your DSP facing the same way. If you flip it over because it will be easier to see your marks on the other side of the paper, your angles will end up facing the opposite directions. Trust me on this as well. Or don't, but just remember I am trying to save you some DSP. Ask me how I know! SMH!

See, all these mistakes I make so you don't have to. What a great friend I am!

I made the card in 3 pattern combinations. 1 just like the original and 2 that are different Here's the first one.

Instead of using Crystal Effects at the heel, toe and cuff, I used my, you guessed it, Two-Way Glue Pen and Dazzling Diamonds Glitter. I added the Rhinestone in the Center like in the video. I then threaded one of the new Jingle Bells from the Holiday Mini Catalog on some of our Linen Thread, knotted it and tied it around the stocking. To make sure it didn't slip down, I secured it with a Mini Glue Dot. I then took a 6 inch piece of Linen Thread and tied a bow and secured it above the bell with another Mini Glue Dot.

Now for the inside-

I used the Merry and Bright stamp from the Merry and Bright set and colored it in with my Early Espresso Stampin Write Marker and stamped it on a base of Whisper White Cardstock. I then took the 25 stamp from the same set and colored it in with Old Olive and Riding Hood Red. I stamped off once and then stamped, so the colors wouldn't be quite as bright. I then used the Two-Way Glue Pen and Dazzling Diamonds and WOW, even with my BB, it's all lit up and purty like!

You can see the original card HERE. Check out BoyGirlBoyDesigns when you get a chance. They have some really cute stuff there!

Here's the next one. Same concept, different color combination and pattern. I used Marina Mist for the base here.

I actually meant to go in and add a little glitter to some of the ornaments and forgot to. :-( My B!

And here's the inside-

I stamped both the ornaments and the sentiments from the Merry and Bright set in Marina Mist onto a base of Whisper White Cardstock and then went back and blinged out the ornaments. Can't have just the outside being pretty, now can we?

For the 3rd card I used Marina Mist again for the base but I used a different DSP for the center panel. The reverse side of DSP that should go with the center panel is a Crumb Cake stripe and I plan on putting it with a Cherry Cobbler Cardstock Base but I was having some issues with that so you'll see that card at a later date. But, I wanted to show you this to show you the versatility of the papers.

-

And now for the inside-

Once again, both stamps are from the Merry and Bright stamp set.  I stamped the sentiment in Marina Mist. The stamp in the corner matches the stamps on the front. I colored it using My Stampin Write Markers in Early Espresso and Marina Mist, stamping off once and then stamping onto my Whisper White carstock. I then used My Two-Way Glue Pen and Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to accent the ornament.
What do you think? I hope you like it. It's a  departure from my normal card and to be honest I was going to wait and put it in my End of the Week Technique Series because it is so different from any card I had seen, but you know what?.... I couldn't wait! I hope you like it and I really hope you try it! I have already made some Thank you cards with it as well and I think it will probably be one of my signature style specialty cards. If you make one, please send me a pic or a link. I'd love to see it!

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 you'd like to get the  supplies to make these cards or cards like them you can shop 24/7 in Shannon's Online Store  .    Check back later in the week to see what's new and for the the End of the Week Technique or better yet put me in your reader, sign up for e-mail alerts or follow me so you don't have to keep checking back in and you get to see what new in the world of glitter (lol).

Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate you!

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

End of the Week Technique #3 A Sparkly Spinner for a Friend in Need

Pin It
Hey Y'all, Welcome back, or Welcome if it's your first time!

Today's card will seem particularly appropriate considering the weather outside here in the good ol' DMV is.... wait for it.... here it comes.... can you guess it.... yep.... 100%.... WET....with 100% chance of staying WET, with Thunderstorms likely! Where are we Forks? Seriously?!? :-) And, it's it's been below 72, for the last 2 days in a row, which we all know is TOTALLY unacceptable!

But, the sun'll come out tomorrow. Doug Kammerer the chief meteorologist said so, or did he say Saturday, at any rate he said the weekend was supposed to be Beautiful, Woo-Hoo! So, hopefully, you can look at today's card and it will make you smile and help get you through until the sun shines, and hopefully you'll make your own as well.

I don't know about you, but I got to relax on Columbus day by spending a few hours stamping and had a nice new card already made for today's segment. Then I got an e-mail that changed those plans, so we'll do that card next week. Turns out though this cards works with today though, funny how things work sometimes huh?

For those of you that don't know me, My beautiful daughter Jacquelline and my Upline Robin's daughter Emma used to skate Synchro together. That's how we met. J has graduated and moved on, and one of the girls on the team with Emma named Emily has had some recent medical problems and is in the hospital right now and is very ill. Robin sent out an e-mail saying that Emily loved Frogs and that Lime Green was her favorite color and it might be nice if we had the time to make a card to brighten her day. I immediately thought of this idea. I hope it makes her smile as much as it does me. I hope you like it as well. Maybe, if you get a chance to, you could remember Emily in your prayers too. Thanks!

 Do you like spinner cards? I LOVE Spinner Cards. They're interactive. They make me want to constantly pick them up and tilt them from side to side and watch them spin baaack and forth, baaaack and forth, baaack and forth and as I do I usually sit there with a Goofy grin on my face and think of the Special, Wonderful, person the took the time to make such a wonderful gift for me. (Unfortunately, it's usually me that took the time, but if you would like to be that Special, Wonderful, person, please feel free to share your creations as well!) One thing to make sure of though when making spinner cards, is to use quality cardstock. Now, I know I'm a Stampin' Up, distributor so you might say "She's going to say Stampin' Up's the best because that's what she sells." Nope, I'm going to tell you  I've used other card stock and other Designer Series Papers on the market and I've had to "Double them up" to get them to hold up and even then they would tear quickly under the strain of the spinning. So, I really do recommend Stampin' Up cardstock for this project because your card recipient is going to want to play with this card A LOT!

I started with a square base of Pear Pizazz and topped that with Lucky Limeade. Both are In-Colors. Sorry the colors aren't showing up well here. Better lighting is a little further down in the budget. :-( Next Pic is a little better. All stamps are from Turtle and Co. which is our Ronald McDonald House Stamp Set this year and a portion of all the sales go to this charity. How Stinkin cute is this little guy!?! Even before I blinged him out? I stamped him on Whisper White cardstock in Basic Black ink and then used my Stampin' Write Markers to color him in. I used Garden Green to outline him and Lucky Limeade for his body. I then cut him out and using my Two-Way Glue Pen covered his whole cute little body body with glue and then dunked him head first in my jar of Dazzling Diamonds Glitter. Yep, Just dove him right in! And, when I rescued him from the Dazzling Diamond Quicksand I had  forced him to endure, look how beautiful and happy he looked! Well, he couldn't then sit on just any plain ole lily pad so I made him a special one. I took some old Glorious Green that I had (although I'm sure Garden Green would work just as well) and using my new Lattice embossing folder, ran it through my Big Shot to give it some texture. I then used my Small Oval punch and cut out 3 ovals and using my Tombow Adhesive glued them together. Next I sponged the edges with some Garden Green to give it a little dimension and depth and then I used my Two-Way Glue Pen and you guessed it, a little more Dazzling Diamonds to add a little something-something for my cute little fellow.

Now, for the Spinner portion. There are plenty of video tutorials on You-Tube, but here's the Down and Dirty Print Version which I know you'll find hard to believe coming from me.
Ready? Here goes-
1-Take your handy dandy Word Window Punch (first punch I ever got, I swear It's the Best!) and slide it in as far as it will go. You can now punch and then continue to punch as far across as you want and it will be even. you can go across the card, or down the card in this manner. If you want, you can even make the lines zig-zag, you are only limited by your imagination and how far in you can reach your punch or tear the edge of your paper.
2- On the back side of the cardstock place a penny. Take a Stampin Dimensional and line it up in the Groove with a flat side to the top and bottom and remove the sticky strip and adhere to the penny.
3- I recommend mounting your cardtock layer on two Dimensionals because you want to make sure there is plenty of room for your slider to move freely and not get stuck. Place your dimensionals in each corner and then in the center of your card, above and below your punched slot. Just make sure to place them so the penny won't hit them when it spins. Do this next. As you do this have your penny/dimensional lined up with your slider slot as much as possible. This will really be very easy. Trust me on this. Some people advocate for wedging your paper apart and shoving your assembled slider mechanism in between the layers but I find this cumbersome and it risks tearing the slider window.
4- Center your Slider on a penny with a Dimensional (try to center it as much as possible for the best spinning).
5- Remove the top sticky from the penny under the cardstock, the one from #2. Now stick your Slider (#4) to this one.
6- Enjoy! Slide back and forth. Your slider may not slide smoothly the first few times, but the more you slide it the more smoothly it should slide and the more it should spin for you.

I tried to insert a video here but it was taking to long to upload at work so I'll try again from home :-(

After I played with the card a little, I decided the top greeting was a little plain, so I went back and Blinged it up a little. I stamped the greeting again on Whisper White cardstock and punched it out with my Word Window Punch. (told you it was Awesome!) Next I took My SNAIL Adhesive and swiped it over the punched out piece and then coated that with ... can you guess...Yep my fav... Dazzling Diamonds! and now I think the card front is Perfect! What do you think?


I then stamped a few more images on the inside and colored them in because, well they were just so cute and I just could help myself... Cute Overload I guess.

This picture actually shows the truest colors. But while I was typing this I got an e-mail from my upline about a light source for a really good price so maybe better pics are just around the corner. (fingers crossed, it is pay day tomorrow after all)

So, that's it for this edition of End of the Week Technique and for Emily's Get Well Card. What do you think?
Do you think she'll like it? I hope so! I hope you like it too, but more than that I hope it inspires you to try your own spinner card. You really are only limited by your own imagination. Give it a try! And, Please,  remember to be sure to show me how they turn it out. I can't wait to see.

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 you need supplies to recreate this card or your own cards, you can shop at my online store, HERE, 24/7.

See you back here soon.

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

Purple Passion - Hope in the fight against Domestic Violence

Pin It
Hey everyone- Hope you had a safe holiday weekend and enjoyed an extra day off with loved ones. I got to sleep in and then got up and spent some quality time stamping. Of course with a test coming up on Wednesday night I should have been studying, in fact I said I would as soon as I made this one card but somehow, one card turned into three and then I started on my team swaps and then my afternoon was gone! Time somehow just flies when your doing something you love.SMH!

Today's card is very special to me. It came together quickly and I think it's very beautiful. It's also full of meaning and every time I look at it, it makes me smile. I hope it will make you smile, but more than that, I hope it will inspire you to make a change.

As just about everyone nowadays knows, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In fact, the stamp set, I used today was designed by Stampin' Up in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness and a portion of the sales from each set was donated to that cause. Now don't get me wrong, I think it's a great cause, in fact, my aunt is a survivor of Breast Cancer and most of us know someone that has been affected by this horrible disease. However, how many of you know that October is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month? I would be willing to bet that outside of the people that know me and are forced to hear me drone on about it every October, not many. The President lights the White House pink, the NFL wears pink, everyone wears pink and raises money and awareness for the pink but how many wear purple or raise money and awareness for the purple and Domestic Violence Awareness? Sadly, very few.

Domestic Violence is a Silent Epidemic, a stain on not only our great nation, but in fact our world. It survives, thrives, and destroys lives and families through the ignorance, fear, and silence of its victims and those who could save them. Remember, Abuse can be Physical, Mental, Emotional, Verbal, Monetary. Please if you know or suspect someone is being is abused, let them know you care, offer to help get them in contact with someone who can help. Often just knowing someone is on their side will mean more than you know. Just please, don't ignore the signs. Like a cancerous lump, Domestic Violence will not get better, it will only get worse, and if left unchecked it often ends in death. Remember Love Does Not Hurt.

 Now,I will get off my soap box and show you today's card-



I used a base of Wisteria Wonder. My second layer is Concord Crush and Wisteria Wonder that I popped up on Dimensionals. Sorry, the lighting is not showing the colors better. I stamped the swirl with the heart and the words at the bottom in Wisteria Wonder. The words say- Courage, Hope, Believe, Unity, Survivor, Caring, Together, Love, Kindness, Support, Strength, Blessed, Thank You. I  stamped the H/Hope in Concord Crush. I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig  so it would be aligned just right. I then went back with my Two-Way Glue pen and Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to add a little shimmer to the top.

For the butterfly, I stamped it three times. The first time, I stamped it in Wisteria Wonder in the middle of the card. The second time I stamped it in Concord Crush on Wisteria Wonder cardstock. The third time, I stamped it in Concord Crush on Whisper White. I crumpled up both butterflies and then cut them out and using my bone folder curved the wings a little giving them some lift. You can see it in the picture.

For those of you that are new to my blog, I HATE distressing stuff! It distresses me! So crumpling up paper is very hard for me to do, in fact, I rarely do it. But for my butterflies, I did it, because it signifies that even though they may have been battered in some form they have survived and are still soaring and are still beautiful. I used my Two-Way Glue pen and Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to add Glitter all over the top butterfly because after all, she's beautiful. I then topped her off with a row of rhinestones because after all, you can never be too beautiful or have too much Bling! I stuck both butterflies together with Glue Dots and then adhered them to the card with Glue Dots.

And because I try to do a little something for the inside here's a pic.

Initially it was just the cardstock base but I tried stamping the butterfly over the swirl and it didn't look as good as I had hoped.
TIP- Once your card is all but finished try a sample stamp on your grid paper first! :-)
I took Whisper White Cardstock and  layered it on the inside of my card (to cover my oops), inked up my stamp with Concord Crush and then stamped off once to decrease the intensity just a little and then stamped it in the lower corner.

Well, I thank you for stopping by today and looking at my blog and hopefully for reading my rant about Domestic Violence. I love how my card turned out and I hope you do to. Every time I see it, it reminds me of where I've been and where I will never again go, and of the difference I can make in others lives.

I hope you make a difference in someones life too.

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 my card made you smile and you would like to make some cards too, remember you can shop in my online store, HERE, 24 hours a day.

Hope to see you later this week.

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

End of the Week Technique #2 Blender Pens & Pastels

Pin It
Hey Y'all! It's Thursday and I have a few minutes so I thought I would go ahead and try and get my second installment of End of the Week Technique in the bag and on the web.

This week's technique is using blender pens and pastels. Did you know you could use your blender pens to color with your pastels? I've been stamping off and on for about 5 years now and had no idea! Who Knew?!? Well apparently there's this thing called You-Tube and you can find all sorts of cool ideas and techniques there and well, that's just what I did! :)
Here's this week's card-

For the life of me, I can't think of the name of the stamp set but it's in the current Stampin' Up catalog. Isn't it Cute? Want to know a secret? It's not 6 different stamps. It's one long one, and I just masked off the ones I wasn't stamping and stamped them one at a time. Gives you a totally different effect. I used Poppy Parade for my card base and Just Add Cake Striped DSP for the second layer. I stamped the images on Whisper White cardstock and then used my 1inch punch to punch out each of the images. I then mounted them on 1 1/8 inch squares of So Saffron, Wild Wasabi and Pacific Point Cardstock. I sponged the edges of both the white and the colored cardstock with matching colored ink. I used Tombow Adhesive to adhere all the layers so they would really stick and then stamped my sentiment with Basic Black in the center bottom.

So, for today's technique I took my blender pens and stroked them over the Stampin' Pastel Color block that I wanted to use and then just colored. How easy is that? Let me tell you, it is so much easier than using the little Q-tip swabbie things that come in the Pastel kit! Plus there are only 3 of those. Boy, I wish I had known about this earlier! I can't tell you how much easier it is to apply color, especially in small areas with your blender pens. It's also easier to get the color off your applicator. When you're done with one color simply make some strokes on your grid paper (scrap) until no color shows and then go to your next color. With the blender pens you can also add depth and intensity to your color. I Totally Love this technique! One thing to remember is to not push down on your blender pen tip. You don't want to smoosh it, you want to keep it nice and angled. BTW- a really nice bonus on the blender pens, they come in packs of 3 and they're double ended, so plenty of use there. When you use them with your ink pads they will get stained, but don't worry, they still work fine, just always swipe them clear when you're done with one color and you will be good to go.

Here's a picture of the card's inside- you know I usually like to put a little something extra in there as well.

Two things about this picture-
1- after I colored, cut out,and adhered my image, I used my Two-Way Glue Pen and Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to add a little sparkle to the image. You can see it a little in the picture. After all, you can never have to much Bling or Glitter, right? Besides, why shouldn't the inside of the card be just as pretty as the outside?
2- If you look real close at the left hand border of the image you'll see the black outline of an image. That's right, it's an OOOPS! Here's the thing- You know I love Clear-Mount Stamps right? I love that I can see exactly where I'm stamping, which reduces my OCD-Stress etc., they take up less space, cost less, I could go on. The one downside is technique related. You have to make sure you take the time to adhere the stamp to the block correctly. Press and hold for at least a count of three. You can not rush this! Also make sure to use the correct size block for your stamp. Ask me how I know? Well, you can see how I know, just look at my card. I didn't take the time to make sure the stamp was secure and I had the first image, which is probably about 3/4 of an inch of a 4-5 inch image on the edge of small stamp block, with the rest hanging off. When I went to stamp, it fell off the block and onto the edge of my card. OH NOES! OK, that's not really what I said, but let's not go there. :) So I had to find a way to fix my boo-boo. Hence, the stamped and cut out image, which is, yes, sitting at an angle. No, it's not your eyes playing tricks on you. You can see the edge of the outline because I felt the image would look silly if I had a bigger border. However, in real life it's really not that noticeable and I'm still really pleased with how the card came out.

So, hopefully you learned two things this week, I know I did!
Some of the items used for today's card are listed below. Remember you can shop for them and more 24/7 at my online store. Just click HERE.



Blender Pens



Stampin Pastels





Just Add Cake DSP







Well, that's it for this week. I hope you let me know what you think and I hope you give this technique a try. I know you'll love it as much as I do! 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 all have a fun, relaxing and safe holiday weekend. Hope you'll check back in soon.

Be Safe,

Shan

Pin It

Mondays were made for Chocolate

Pin It

Hey everyone! It's a rainy Monday here in the Nation's capitol (again!). You'd think we lived in Washington state and not Washington, D.C. Now though, we've added cold to the rain. We woke up to the 40's here this morning, I have to say I can find no conceivable reason why it should be this cold the first weekend in October! It's a Monday for sure. :(
You might be tempted to ask what can make a cold and rainy Monday better? Well, in my book there's one thing that makes everything better, even cold rainy Mondays. If you guessed Chocolate, you would be sooo very right!

I got to spend a lot of creative time this weekend in the upstairs studio (otherwise known as my kitchen, at the table). :) I got a chance to make some Chocolate, that I wouldn't even feel remotely bad about enjoying. I saw this last week when I was surfing the net looking for inspiration and I knew I needed to try and make something similar. Here's my guilt free Chocolate...

Doesn't it look yummy? I used my Simply Scored to make the chocolate pieces and to score the wrapper and the liner. I swear that was the best $30.00 I've spent in a long time. I think I've used it at least once a week since I got it. So much easier than my paper-cutter! I used a stamp set I got last year for free during a booking blitz, called Eat Chocolate. I was so bummed they didn't make that a regular catalog item. I used my Stampin' Write markers to color in the stamps before I stamped them. I used Tombow adhesive to secure the wrapper and liner around the bar and then secured the flaps with a Mini Glue-Dot. The small Scalloped Circle punch made the bite marks. How cute is this? It makes me smile just looking at it, and NO calories, well that makes me just about Giddy!

For the inside of the card, I used two more stamps from that same set. By coloring it in with my markers I was not only able to pick my colors, I was able to get just the part of the stamp I wanted for the inside of my card.

Isn't that little Bon-Bon cute? I used my Two-way Glue Pen and Dazzling Diamonds glitter to add a little sparkle to it and there you have it.... a card that made even my Cold Rainy Monday a little happier. I hope it makes your day a little brighter as well, regardless of where you live or what the weather's like outside.

Now just in case my card hasn't given you enough of a chocolate fix, why not head over to Cookiesandcups.com. I LOVE this Blog and  Shelly is Amazing! I got my Whoppers Brownie recipe on her site and today she gives another fabulous Chocolate recipe to chase away the gloom. Chubby-Hubby Bars...Oh Yes, I am going to be making these soon for the Chocoholics in my life, and by that I mean me + one. Here's a picture, but trust me on this, go to the site, but have a napkin ready, you're gonna DROOL!




Well, I hope you enjoyed my card and the link to the Amazing Noms! 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. :)

Remember you can shop HERE, 24/7 to get started making your own Guilt-Free Smile Makers.

Till next time,
Be Safe,
Shan Pin It