Constantly Stamping

September Fancy Friday Blog Hop

Whenever my creativity is nowhere to be found, I can almost always be inspired by a good card sketch. Today on the Fancy Friday we are sharing this fun sketch that was designed by the oh-so-talented Jen Timko. I think this is a fabulous sketch. There are lots of things to inspire you. I decided to focus on the background stripes and the overall basic layout. Instead of bright colors, however, I opted for silver, gold, and white.

This card is 4.25" x 4.25" and uses the feathers from the Four Feathers stamp set (#135050w/135053c). I created a two-tone effect by first stamping them in VersaMark and covering the top portion in pewter embossing powder and the bottom with gold then I heat embossed them and die cut them with the coordinating Feathers Framelits Dies. The sentiment is from the And Many More stamp set (#134273/134276).

The background is Gold Soiree DSP and layered on some Gold Foil. I used a So Saffron button and some linen thread. I added some basic pearls, rhinestones, and some clear sequins (non-SU) to make things even more FANCY!

Be sure to head on over to see the "fancy" project Erica has for you.

  Find out more about my Classy & Chic Stamp Class by Mail Boutique.

 

Tis a Gift to Be Simple...

If you have visited my blog for very long, then you probably know that each summer I make lots of homemade blackberry jam to give to friends and neighbors as gifts. More often than not I spend hours and hours decorating jars only to have the people who receive it tell me that it is much too pretty to eat. So this year I decided that maybe I need to take it down a notch. I want the jam jars to be nice, but I also want the recipients to open and enjoy it. So this is what I came up with.

How incredibly cool is it that I was able to use Blackberry Bliss accessories and ink to decorate jars of blackberry jam. This is the kind of gift that can be pulled together in a jiffy and still have a WOW factor. I just stamped the greeting from "For All Things" and die cut/punched the circles. Then I added some Color Me Autumn washi tape to the rim and tied on some linen thread with a leaf from the Autumn Wooden Elements for a special little touch. It may be simple, but those sweet little extras make all the difference.

You can pick up everything you need to create this project (except the jam, of course) over in my online store in the Holiday Catalog.

 

Case Study #207

It's been a while since I have participated in any challenges, but this month over at the CASE Study challenge blog they are featuring one of my favorite card designers, Debby Hughes, so I thought I would jump in and play.

The first thing I noticed about this card are the beautiful colors and the effective use of white space. I have been itching to ink up my Kinda Eclectic stamp set. Even though I didn't use a floral image, I tried to capture the elegant feel of Debby's card by using these beautiful leaves stamped in Mossy Meadow ink. To add in some of the pinks I stamped the sentiment with Strawberry Slush, but that still wasn't enough, so I added a few randomly placed sequins. Debby also used pearls and rhinestones so I added some of those too. If you look closely, there is a row of stitching on her card, so I introduced a similar element by adding some linen thread.

 

I love the fact that this week's card focuses on basic stamping technique rather than relying on things like designer series paper or die cuts. Here is one more look...

Don't forget to sign up for September's Classy & Chic Stamp Class by Mail Boutique.

 

September Kit Club Registration Now Open

Here is a little sneak peek for our September Classy & Chic Stamp Class by Mail Boutique. If you would like to register, contact me at [email protected]. For more information on Classy & Chic, click here.