Stamping with Ryan

Mornin' y'all!  I've got a little bit of time before I'm due to leave for work today, so I thought I'd share a couple of cards that Ryan (4 years old) made for his cousins around the beginning of November.  Here are his creations:

Even though it was after Halloween, he insisted on using the ghost and Halloween greeting for the first card.  Ryan did all the stamping and die cutting, though I helped line up the dies before he cranked 'em through the Big Shot.  He chose the DSP scraps and I adhered them on the card fronts, and then he stuck on the other pieces (I just made sure they didn't overlap the card edges so we could still get them in envelopes when he finished).  Ryan also colored the dog in and somehow ended up with Camouflage Canine, haha!  I think he asked me to color in the dog's collar but he did all the rest.  Once he finished making the cards, he dictated messages for me to write to his cousins.

Ryan does like doing arts & crafts stuff; we have a tub of construction paper, pompoms, markers, and glitter glue that we play with, and if he sees me go in my craft room he always wants to "help".  Right now I have to supervise pretty closely (um, he put a 6-inch scratch on our dining room table with a pair of scissors when I went to the bathroom once) but it's still fun to see how his brain works when he creates things.

Have a great day, peeps!

A-Team Baby Book: November

It's Saturday once again and that means time for some baby book pages!  Welcome to November.

I don't typically use a whole lot of Crumb Cake on my scrapbook layouts (both my own and for baby books) but it just seemed to work here.  And I still love and adore Thankful Forest Friends; even though it didn't make the big catalog this year and is now retired I shall keep it in my stash forever and ever.

Because it's just so CUTE.  I did refrain from using the bear on this layout though since my brother and his wife are very rah-rah with their respective schools and give me the side-eye when I put bears (my mascot) on stuff for them.

So bunnies and foxes it is.  Speaking of bunnies and foxes, we got Zootopia the other night and that's a cute movie.

And there's some fall leaves for the journaling block.

Today's perfectly fall-ish color scheme includes Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Blackberry Bliss, Mossy Meadow, and Whisper White.  And the Cajun Craze and Blackberry Bliss are kinda like darker versions of baby girl's parents' school colors (Oklahoma State orange and Texas Christian purple).  See, I am nice to them.  Well, I did sneak some Baylor green on there...

Supplies:
Stamps:  Thankful Forest Friends, Fall Fest
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Mossy Meadow, Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Blackberry Bliss, Mossy Meadow, Color Me Autumn DSP
Accessories:  Sizzix alphabet, circles & scalloped circles Nestabilities

Friday Flashback: Perfectly Preserved

Hey, kids!  How's your Friday the 13th going?  No bad luck, I hope.  Today's retired stamp set is Perfectly Preserved, which I totally love, so without further ado let's get to the Flashback!

Also features Sweet Essentials

I love the Orchard Harvest DSP, such fun colors.  Anyway, before I got this set, I was talking to my friend Missy and she mentioned some really old stamp set that was like the first one she ever got and it had a jar, and she *never* used it.  And then we said we wouldn't buy Perfectly Preserved because we'd never use the jar.  And then a week later I bowed to the power of Stampin' Up! psychic resonance and I bought it.  So I made Missy this card.  With the jar, obviously.

Also features Perfectly Penned

I do love these apples :)

Also features Pursuit of Happiness

You've seen this one recently, the only time I've used the corn stamp.  But you never know when you might need a corn stamp, so it's a good thing I held onto it ;)

Also features One Smart Cookie

The Friday Flashback for One Smart Cookie wasn't that long ago so you've seen this recently too.

Yay more apples.  I haven't checked back on my Raspberry Ripple ink pad to see how it's doing now after I tried to wash all the gold sheen off.  But I now know that my Bravo Burgundy ink pad has it even worse.  I should take a picture of it so you can see what I mean.

Also features A Word For You

I love a good pun:  you're a perfect pear.

Also features Fall Fest, My Paper Pumpkin

I love that "there's no such thing as too much pie" stamp from one of last year's My Paper Pumpkin kits, I just kinda wish it was in a more easily readable font.  Picky picky.

So there's the Flashback, wasn't that fun?  I have to tell you I'm a little late getting this post up because I've been doing a lot of work on scrapbook pages, and for some reason I find it difficult sometimes to move from scrapbooking to card making.  It's like they're parallel tracks in my brain but it's hard to cross from one to the other.  But then I did and I got TWO cards done for today, plus another one you'll see next week.  So here's the new creations:

I had to use the jar, just to prove I *can* use the jar, and I really wanted to use the flowers since I'd never done that before.  And it took forever for me to find a sentiment for this card, but in the end I went with Perfectly Penned because a.) it's awesome and b.) it's right next to Perfectly Preserved in my stamp cabinet.

The sketch is courtesy of TGIF Challenges:

And since I had the other half of that piece of thick Whisper White cardstock on my table, I figured I might as well make another card with it:

Same sketch, just horizontal.  And I pulled out One Smart Cookie again because it's cute with these apples.  The colors are from Colour Me...!

Red and green might say "Christmas" to you, but like Mary I am quite contrary so I like my red and green apples.

I hope you have a lovely weekend, peeps!  I'm back to working on those scrapbook pages if I can get my train of thought onto the other track.  Cheers!

Supplies, flower thank you card:
Stamps:  Perfectly Preserved, Perfectly Penned
Ink:  Wisteria Wonder, Marina Mist, Smoky Slate, Pear Pizzazz
Paper:  Thick Whisper White, Berry Blossoms DSP
Accessories:  white baker's twine

Supplies, sweeter than pie card:
Stamps:  Perfectly Preserved, One Smart Cookie
Ink:  Real Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Thick Whisper White, Old Olive DSP
Accessories:  Real Red taffeta

Friday Flashback: Carved & Candlelit

Happy Friday, y'all!  I have an appropriately October-ish stamp set for today's Friday Flashback:  Carved & Candlelit.  Love it!  So let's get to the fun part :)

Also features Rough Edges Alphabet

It's hard to tell from this photo, but the jack o' lanterns' faces are embossed with Iridescent Ice so they're all sparkly.

Also features Cool Cat, Background Basics, All-Year Cheer III

What's more Halloweeny than a cool black cat?

Also features Background Basics, Petite Patterns, All-Year Cheer II

I happen to know a couple of people whose birthdays are ON Halloween, and quite a few more with October birthdays who also love pumpkins.

Ok, so this one is really old:  it's a layout from the first set of baby books I did way, way back.

Also features Bright Blessings (unmounted wheel)

So Carved & Candlelit is a simple little set with a couple of pumpkins and a few faces, but clearly I love it.

Also features Grateful Greetings

Again with the Iridescent Ice EP faces.

Also features Priceless, Falling Leaves

You've seen this layout on here quite recently but I couldn't leave it out.  And that's the Flashback part of today's post, so here's the new creations:

Yep, I made two!  My brother-in-law and his son have birthdays one week apart so I figured I'd make cards for both of them.  And between the two cards, I used every stamp in the set one time.

First up is the grown-up card; I had quite a time trying to get this card to work.  This is actually the FOURTH background panel!  I don't know why but I was just having trouble getting things to gel yesterday when I worked on it.

I used the color combination from The Color Throwdown:

And the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

And I think this one counts for the Male Room challenge to make an autumn card for a guy:

So next up, the card for the 6-year-old.

This one didn't quite want to gel either, I don't know what is up with my craft cave lately.  But anyway I used the color combo from ColourQ:

And the sketch from Retro Sketches:

I think this might have worked better for me if I'd made my card more like 5 inches square instead of 4.25".  But I don't have envelopes that size, so what can ya do.

Well, I know what I'm going to do:  I'm going to go back down to my craft room and work on another project, and hope that this time my mojo cooperates a little better.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, next-to-last card:
Stamps:  Carved & Candlelit, Fall Fest, Birthday Wish, Work of Art
Ink:  Pumpkin Pie, Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Accessories:  Dimensionals

Supplies, last card:
Stamps:  Carved & Candlelit, All-Year Cheer II
Ink:  Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss
Paper:  Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Tangerine Tango DSP
Accessories:  circle punch, Dimensionals

Strawberry the Cat

Hey peeps, how's your Thursday going?  I'm tired.  Since my little boy dog can't go up and down stairs due to his leg injury, the hubs and I have been sleeping on an air mattress in the basement because we're the special kind of dog parents who do things like that.  We have a nice air mattress, but it's still an air mattress, and I don't think the hubs is sleeping any better than I am.  Sigh.

But anyway, you're here to see some stampy artwork, not hear about the trials and tribulations of injured dog care.

Meet Strawberry, who is Stella and Stefan's cat.  Why'd they name a black cat Strawberry?  Who knows why a witch and a vampire (even cute ones) do anything.  Yes, I'm slightly obsessed with this stamp set.  I haven't used the pumpkin stamp yet...

Meet this week's Color Throwdown:

I used Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, and Basic Black.  Sure, it woulda been Halloweenier if I'd used orange, but I was going with the challenge colors here.

And I used this week's Retro Sketch, it's been a while since I played along over there:

Can I just say how much I love those Hello You Thinlits dies?  They're pretty spec-fabulous.  There are some other word dies in the holiday catalog that I like but I haven't ordered, so for now I shall continue to use the Hello You ones and talk about how much I love them.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Haunt Ya Later
Ink:  Basic Black, Pink Pirouette, Smoky Slate & Old Olive Blendabilities (I know they're retired, I just don't care)
Paper: Basic Black, Thick Whisper White, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight
Accessories:  Circles Framelits, Hello You Thinlits, Dimensionals

Special added bonus today!  I finished the birthday party invitations for my friend Sarah over the weekend and mailed them off Monday.  I slightly tweaked the design before I made the whole set, so here is the final product:

I like it.  I inked up my Pale Plum ink pad because it was a bit dried out, and I added in the little flowers on the background and then some Rich Razzleberry sponging around the white panel.  I think it was just the extra touch these cards needed.

That's it for me today, peeps.  See you tomorrow for the Friday Flashback.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Fall Fest, Priceless, A Dozen Thoughts
Ink:  Tangelo Twist, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Pale Plum, Basic Black
Paper:  Rich Razzleberry, Pear Pizzazz, Basic Black, Whisper White, Old Olive DSP
Accessories:  Fall Fun Framelits, Dimensionals

Pumpkins, Two Ways

The day after I finished the baby books, a friend of mine asked if I would make invitations for her daughter's birthday party...and said lil girl is a Halloween baby.  She requested purple and pumpkins, so here's what I came up with first:

Halloween colors, and a pumpkin, but still girly with the swirls in the background.  I used this week's new Global Design Project sketch:

Buuut that wasn't exactly what Sarah was looking for so here's my second try:

Sarah really liked the pumpkins I did on her daughter's baby book, so she wanted something similar to that.  I think this needs some sponging around the white panel though...I did sponge on some Pale Plum ink but it's too pale :)  Anyway, baby book.

And a closeup of the pumpkins and swirls:

The space is much smaller on a card front, and I used the pumpkins from last year's Fall Fest instead of my old favorite Carved & Candlelit because of the matching Framelits.  But anyway, there isn't room on a card front to do the swirls the exact same way so I just did them on the entire panel, and we'll see if that meets with her approval.

Anywha, for the second card I used the new Freshly Made Sketch:

So that's your two-fer today, and now I'm craving pumpkin coffee cake.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, first card:
Stamps:  Fall Fest, A Dozen Thoughts, Soft Swirls
Ink:  Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Whisper White
Paper:  Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black, Pale Plum, Whisper White, Cottage Garden DSP
Accessories:  Circles & Fall Fest Framelits, Dimensionals

Supplies, second card:
Stamps:  Fall Fest, A Dozen Thoughts, Priceless
Ink:  Tangelo Twist, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper:  Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Old Olive DSP
Accessories:  Fall Fest Framelits, Dimensionals

2014 Showcase, Part 3

It's the final part of the 2014 Showcase :)  Let's take a look.

Fall Fest, Four You

For September, I love this pumpkin birthday card that I sent to a good friend of mine.  Plus the color combo of orange, green, and purple is just fantastic.

Perfect Peacock, Work of Art

October's pick is this golden peacock because I love the colors and all the gold.  And also peacocks make me think of my mom, who has quite a bit of peacock stuff in her house.

Bright & Beautiful, Gorgeous Grunge, A Dozen Thoughts

For November, I had another tie and this Northern Lights card was one of them.  I thought that my background wasn't going to work at all right up until I actually finished it, and then I loved it!

Fall Fest, Perfectly Preserved, My Paper Pumpkin

And the other November fave is this pie-riffic Thanksgiving card.  That sentiment stamp is just SO me.  And I do love both apple pie and pumpkin pie.

Santa Stache, Nacho card!

Last but not least, I couldn't resist this Santa and his oversized mustache.  This card just makes me smile :)  Not a bad way to end the year.

So starting tomorrow is a whole new stampy adventure!  Happy New Year, friends!

Too Much Pie? Never!

So I lied...I have one MORE "one more" fall card :)  I couldn't resist, I had to use this sentiment stamp from October's Paper Pumpkin kit:

So THIS is now the card I'll give to the hubs' aunt and uncle for hosting us tomorrow.  I'm in charge of the desserts (how'd that happen?) so today's task is to make pumpkin praline pie, apple pie, and pecan pie.  I already made Mississippi mud and sweet potato casserole yesterday.

I used the current Cupcake Inspirations challenge to make my pie-themed card:

Cute cupcakes, right?  And I used the sketch from Fab Friday:

And I stuck pretty well to BOTH challenges, yay me!  Well, I've got the hubs peeling potatoes right now to make a roast for dinner tonight so I guess I'd better get in the kitchen and get started on those pies :)  Happy Thanksgiving, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Fall Fest, My Paper Pumpkin October 2014 kit, Perfectly Preserved (retired)
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive
Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, retired So Saffron DSP (yay for using up scraps)
Accessories:  Fall Fun & Cannery Framelits, hexagon punch, Argyle embossing folder, Regals Candy Dots, Dimensionals