Constantly Stamping

October Fancy Friday Blog Hop

We are back with another Fancy Friday blog hop. This month we are focusing on designer series paper. This card features two different Christmas papers from the Holiday mini catalog. I started with a piece of Cherry Cobbler paper from the Trim the Tree DSP stack and layered on a piece of Smoky Slate paper from the All Is Calm Specialty DSP assortment. The poinsettias are die cut from Cherry Cobbler cardstock with two different size flowers from the Flower Frenzy Bigz L die (#133728). I scored each flower from the tips to the center to give the look of veins. The fun greenery behind the flower is actually two snowflakes that were die cut with the Snowflake Card Thinlits dies and then folded in half on a bit of a diagonal so they have a more random look.

Normally I would have used the words "Merry Christmas" for the sentiment, but I have lost my "Christmas" stamp from the Endless Wishes stamp set. I ended up improvising and using this sentiment instead. Only one problem...there isn't an "s" on the "Season" stamp, so I had to add my own by masking everything and borrowing the "s" from the "greetings" stamp. If you look closely, you can see where I used a Real Red marker to connect them. I also had to add an apostrophe by hand. Here's one more look at the finished card.

I almost forgot to mention that some of us are giving away blog candy. I am giving away one sheet each of 12 double-sided designs of the the Trim the Tree Designer Series Paper Stack. Just leave a comment below before midnight (CST) on November 6, 2015 for a chance to win. I will notify the winner by email. (Here's the fine print: you can only enter one time and you must have a shipping address in the U.S.)

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

Paper Pumpkin Alternative Project

Hi there, stampers! I am back from a little hiatus. Life has been a little hectic lately and something had to give...but I finally had a chance to sit down and play in my craft room. I didn't know where to begin, so I opened my October Paper Pumpkin box and was totally WOWed by the adorable pumpkin pie boxes in the kit. Seriously, they are super cute and I really don't know why you would want to change a single thing about them. But just in case you would rather concentrate on Christmas, I thought it would be fun to show you something you can make with those cute boxes from the kit.

Show of hands...did anyone else think "Christmas trees" when you saw those fun boxes? I have some more elaborate ideas in mind, but I thought I would keep it nice and simple...at least for now...WINK! (NOTE: the boxes are the only thing on this project that was from the Paper Pumpkin kit...everything else is added to it from my Holiday Catalog stash!)

Oh my! That Cherry Cobber sheer ribbon is dreamy and makes awesome bows!

The leaves from the Fun Fall Framelits Dies make great holly leaves too!

And the Good Greetings hostess set adds the perfect sentiment.

Don't forget to check back later this week for our Fancy Friday blog hop! See You Soon!

 

Easy Open Pumpkins & Sunflowers Curvy Keepsake Box

I know I am a little late jumping in to share a project made with the new Curvy Keepsake Box die. There are a ton of adorable projects all over Pinterest that use this new die and honestly, I didn't really know if I had anything new and different to offer my blog followers. But, one of my team members asked me to PLEASE make something using this die for our meeting this week, so this is what I came up with.

I will be the first to tell you that the woodgrain background was not my idea. I have seen several great projects from other talented demonstrators that use this stamp to create a fun design element. In particular, I love this box created by Georgia Giguere. But as luck would have it, I didn't have all the supplies needed to CASE it exactly, so I decided to put my own spin on an already great foundation.

One of the things that I noticed right away when designing this project is the need to be able to easily open it after it was finished. So after doing my initial stamping and sponging of all the edges with Early Espresso ink, I decided to keep my focus on the front panel of the box. I used the smallest flower die in the Flower Fair framelits to cut some Daffodil Delight cardstock. Each flower consists of four layers. (Mercedes used this same die in our September Classy & Chic class to create centers for some AMAZING flowers.) I adapted her design to make these cute little sunflowers that fit perfectly on the front of this box. The leaves were cut with the smallest leaf die in the same set using Mossy Meadow cardstock. I crumpled and distressed the petals and leaves before building each flower. I colored some basic pearls with a dark Crumb Cake Blendabilities Marker and added them to the flower centers. Then it was just a matter of stamping a sweet sentiment from the For All Things stamp set on Very Vanilla cardstock to create the banner.

Finally, I wanted to keep the box closure simple & sweet, so I tied a piece of linen thread onto a mini gold clothespin and added it to the handle. (If you have ever watched in agony as someone tears open and destroys something that took you hours to create, you can thank me now! LOL!) Make several, fill them with some yummy fall treats, and share them with family and friends!

If you enjoy the projects you see here, I hope you will consider joining us for our next Classy & Chic Stamp Class by Mail Boutique. Registration is now open for our October class. You will receive pre-cut supplies to create four cards/projects along with indepth video tutorials for those projects. You also will receive the featured stamp set and accessories shipped to your door directly from Stampin' Up! But it doesn't end there, you also get ideas for eight more online extra projects as well. The response to our classes have been tremendous and we hope you will join in on the fun.

Embellished One Layer Card

You may have noticed that I haven't been blogging as much lately. Mainly because I have been putting most of my creative energy into our Classy & Chic classes. Last month, Mercedes and I featured the For All Things stamp set. This card was an online extra project that I designed a little too late to be included in the class. Since I have been neglecting this poor little blog lately, I decided to share it with all of you instead.

I started by masking off the front panel of a piece of Naturals Ivory cardstock. Then I stamped the leaf several times with Early Espresso ink. Next I used a sponge daubber to randomly apply ink to the background being careful to push away from the edges toward the center of the masked off area. I used Mossy Meadow, Strawberry Slush, and Pumpkin Pie ink. Then I sponged Early Espresso ink just around the edges. I waited until the ink was completely dry and then removed the masks from the edges. I stamped the sentiment with Early Espresso ink and finally tied on some linen thread and an Autumn Wooden Element. I also cut a coordinating leaf with the Fun Fall Framelits Die from Mossy Meadow and attached it behind the wooden leaf.

Our September class has ended, but we are now enrolling for our October class. It will feature the Endless Wishes photopolymer stamp set. You can find out more about our classes HERE. We have been having a wonderful time with our classes and we hope you will join us!