A Little Dream (Cinema Saturday Guest Designer)...

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Last week, I was lucky enough to be chosen as the Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge Guest Designer for today's movie, which is a fun fave -- Legally Blonde! The funny thing was that the night before the day I'd set aside to work on the project, the movie aired on television and I had a chance to watch it again. (It's actually a great chick flick because even my husband likes watching it!) I love how Elle Woods goes for what she wants, with a plucky attitude and a winning personality. The other star of the movie is Bruiser Woods, her adorable chihuahua. My little boy has a beloved stuffed chihuahua (a gift from his Nana), quite possibly the ugliest toy in the universe (no offense, chihuahua-lovers of the world). It is so bizarre people actually stop us on the street to comment. So, naturally, the "star" of my card had to be an homage to this tiny canine.
I don't have any chihuahua stamps, so I decided to draw my own, using my little guy's as a model. Using a light table, I traced the image a second time so that I could pop it out over the big juicy bone I thought would be the perfect "dream." The encouraging sentiment -- the challenge requirement this week -- was created on a computer, but it originates from a Stampin' Up stamp called Happiness Always. Wanting to keep things simple, I stuck with plain shades of pink (of course!) with just a few brads and a bright ribbon to finish off.
BEAN NOTES: Copic Sketch Markers (E31 and E 55); Stampin' Up Regal Rose, Melon Mambo, and Whisper White Cardstock; SU Melon Mambo Grosgrain Ribbon; Dark Pink Brads (generic); Foam Dimensional Squares (generic); Computer; Printer
HAPPY BEANS: Black Sharpie Ultra Fine Tip Marker; Light Table

Friday Friends...

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I am so flattered to be asked by the ladies at Stamp a Sweet Impression to be today's Friday Friend. This week, Taylor served up yet another wonderful sketch, and I decided to make a pink card in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For this card, I took a Christmas image and, with a simple tweak, turned it into one I could use year-round. I combined several stamp sets, along with several shades of pink Stampin' Up papers, and just a touch of stitching to create a background for these sweet little love birds.

BEAN NOTES: Taylored Expressions Wings of Joy, A Year of Sweet Sentiments, and For the Love of Cupcakes Stamps; Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip Classic Dye Ink; SU Melon Mambo Designer Series Paper; SU Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Whisper White, and Melon Mambo Cardstock; Spellbinders Classic Hearts Nestabilities; Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder; Big Shot; Dark Pink Button (generic); Foam Dimesnsional Squares (generic) HAPPY BEANS: Pink Embroidery Thread; Needle

A Happy Heart...

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In support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I decided to make only "pink" cards this week. Breast cancer strikes millions of women (and men), and, though I have been lucky enough to not have any loved ones suffer from breast cancer, my mother is fighting colon cancer, and I know the toll it can take on both the patient and her family.
The Pals Paper Arts Challenge this week is "In the Pink," and today I created a simple card with Pink Pirouette and Soft Suede. To add just a little touch of elegance, I paper pierced a flourish, repeating it in several places to create a frame effect. Please visit me here on TSB tomorrow and Saturday for a few more pink cards, and check out the PPA Challenge to post your own creations (and you might just win a very fabulous "pink" prize!)
BEAN NOTES: (Unless otherwise noted, all materials are Stampin' Up) A Happy Heart and Lovely Flowers Stamps; Soft Suede Classic Dye Ink; Soft Suede and Pirouette Pink Cardstock; Foam Dimensional Squares; Kaiser Rose Pearls
HAPPY BEANS: Ornare Paper Piercing Template; Paper Piercer

Think Pink!...

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and to raise awareness, the Pals Paper Arts Challenge this week is to create a card using the color Pink (plus, there will be a fab pink prize for a lucky participant)! We can all get working on our projects now, and upload them on Thursday. For more information on Breast Cancer and what you can do to support the fight for a cure, click here.

A Little Toot...

I'm so excited to share a little bit of fun news. My card, One Little Fishie, was named the Audrey Award Winning entry in the Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge, which was for the movie Finding Nemo. I'm so flattered, especially because all the entries were so amazing! Thank you Sankari and Brooke for choosing my card. I will be the CSCC Guest Designer next week, so please visit the challenge blog and give it a whirl!

Let's Take a Ride...

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My little boy is turning two on Sunday (I can't believe how fast he is growing up!) and I wanted to make him a special card to celebrate. Ever since we moved to the Big Apple, he's had a passionate love for taxis. He calls them 'tacos' and riding in one is always a real treat. So, in honor of his Number One love, I decided to make him a taxi cab card.
I don't have any stamps of taxis, so I had to create my own image. I started with a very simple car design, drawn on Yo-Yo Yellow with a fine-tipped black pen. After carefully cutting out the shape with scissors and a hobby blade, I added the cab's signature black and yellow checker pattern and paper pieced a fender, headlight, and sign. For tires, I used a pair of black buttons. I thought it would be fun to have the taxi speeding down a city street and cut out a New York skyline silhouette from black cardstock. The checkerboard trim was easy to do with a 1/2" square punch with more black cardstock. A rub-on sentiment and a few puffs of exhaust smoke later, I had a fun card to give to my little terrific two.
BEAN NOTES: Stampin' Up Chit Chat Rub-On; SU Basic Black, Whisper White, Yo-Yo Yellow, and Tempting Turquoise Cardstock; Dark Gray Textured Cardstock (generic); Paper Shapers 1/2" Square Punch; Foam Dimensional Squares (generic) HAPPY BEANS: Black Buttons (generic); Hobby Blade; Black Fine-Tip Pen (generic)

Orange You Cute...

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Julee Tilman is having another week of fabulous Challenges, and I decided to take advantage of her wonderful sketches to make a little gift set. (To view the sketches, please click here.) I adore this sweet little stamp set and thought the images would make for a cute batch of cards. These cards are actually the size of gift tags, and it was surprisingly challenging to work on such a small scale. I tried to stick to one bright color with Whisper White, a little ribbon, and a single, fun button. With so little space, I had to be choosy with my embellishments and how I placed each element.















BEAN NOTES: Unless otherwise noted, all materials are Stampin' Up: One Smart Cookie Stamps; Real Red, Tangerine Tango, Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry, and Kiwi Kiss Classic Dye Ink; Whisper White, Real Red, Tangerine Tango, Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry, and Kiwi Kiss Cardstock; Slot Punch; Paper Shapers 7/8" and 1" Circle Punches; EK Success Small Scallops Border Punch; Red, Orange, Turquoise, Purple, and Light Green Grosgrain Ribbon (generic)
HAPPY BEANS: Basic Grey Buttons

A Bit of Thanks to Give...

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It's hard to believe that another Mojo Monday is upon us...this year is already winding to a close, and I don't think I'm ready for that yet! So, I'm finally getting to Thanksgiving cards (I have a ton to make, so it's a good thing I'm buckling down.) This week's sketch is nice and easy. I'm pressed for time today, so I "cheated" by cutting out parts of some pretty autumn designer paper -- scraps, which I love using when I can -- and put together this simple card. If they could only all be so quick!
BEAN NOTES: Stampin' Up Holiday Best Stamp; SU Close to Cocoa Classic Dye Ink; Dark Brown Textured Cardstock (generic); Dark Brown Metallic Cardstock (generic); SU More Mustard and Very Vanilla Cardstock; SU Ticket Corner Punch; Kaiser Ivory Pearls; Foam Dimensional Squares (generic); Cuttlebug Victorian Embossing Folder; Big Shot; Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon (generic)
HAPPY BEANS: Autumn Theme Designer Paper (generic)

One Little Fishie...

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I've admired the Cinema Saturday Challenge for some time now, but I just haven't had the guts to try it out. When I saw this week's inspiration movie, however, I decided it was time to brave it out and give it a whirl. The movie is one of my all-time faves...Finding Nemo! It's also a color challenge, and I thought the bright colors would make for a fun card. Nemo reminds me of my own little boy--he's brave and spunky and never gives up, and they are both the inspiration behind my slightly different take on a tent card.
I stamped the fishie image several times on Whisper White, cutting them all out (a good task to do while watching a movie, by the way.) To create my little "one of kind" guppie, I used a reverse stamp imager and drew in some stripes to make him into a clown fish. With a white gel pen, I colored in the stripes and added a little crystal glitter to make him stand out of the crowd. The sentiment was done on a computer, and I used the gel pen again to draw in a fishing hook. Remember, "fish are friends, not food," when it comes to cuties like this little guy!
BEAN NOTES: Clear Mini Dropping You a Line Stamp; Stampin' Up Basic Black Classic Dye Ink; SU Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Tangerine Tango, and Pacific Point Cardstock; Dark Blue/Nave Textured Cardstock (generic); Cuttlebug Bubbles Embossing Folder; Big Shot; Spellbinders Classic Circle Nestabilities; EK Success Dotted Wave Border Punch; Computer & Printer; Foam Dimensional Squares (generic) HAPPY BEANS: Uni-ball Signo White Gel Pen

A Merry Little House...

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I just can't seem to get away from Christmas cards, and this week's sketch from Taylor Vanbruggen gave me another excuse to get a very big head start (oh, yeah, I still need to make Thanksgiving cards!) I thought I'd combine the sketch with the swell colors from the Color Throwdown (which I have been avoiding ever since my last dismal effort failed miserably.) I love the colors of Baja Breeze, Chocolate, and Sahara Sand together, though I did have to substitute Bleu Bayou. It made for an unusual holiday theme, but I like its non-traditional flavor.
For this card, I decided to cut out the circle element, and here I added a piece of light blue vellum behind the window to lighten things up. I colored in the sweet bird house image with Copic and Stampin' Write markers and popped up the tiny wings of the nesting birds. For a little festive touch, I used glitter and liquid applique on the snow -- brr! I'm glad it's warm in this merry little house.
BEAN NOTES: Taylored Expressions Wings of Joy Stamps; Stampin' Up Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip Classic Dye Ink; Copic Sketch Markers (BG75 and Colorless Blender); SU Stampin' Write Markers (Sahara Sand, Balley Blue, Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Perfect Plum, Always Artichoke); Cloud 9 Designs Designer Paper; Basic Grey Offbeat Designer Paper; Sand Textured Cardstock (generic); SU Very Vanilla and Bleu Bayou Cardstock; Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder; Big Shot; SU Modern Label Punch; Dark Brown Grosgrain Ribbon (generic); Foam Dimensional Squares (generic); Sponge Dauber (generic)
HAPPY BEANS: Liquid Applique; Crystal Glitter (generic); Light Blue Vellum (generic)
**If you would like to order these or any other current Stampin' Up products, please feel free to contact me HERE.

Merry & Bright...

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I know I should be making Thanksgiving cards, but I feel like I'm already in the Christmas spirit -- there's a little nip in the air that makes me think of twinkly lights and pretty packages. This week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge is a sketch, and it's a fun one! For this card, I decided to go simple and (hopefully) elegant. I posed a challenge to myself to use a color that I've never used before, in this case, Bravo Burgundy. I think it pairs quite nicely with Very Vanilla and I didn't want to muddy the waters with another color.

The sketch turned out to work wonderfully as a gate-fold card, complete with a ribbon tie. For the simple, elegant tree, I stamped with Very Vanilla Craft Ink before heat embossing with the same color. I created some designer background paper with the lovely snowflake image from the same set, stamping in Bravo Burgundy and adding a few tiny rose-colored pearls. The inside needed some embellishment, but again I kept it simple with the same tree image and an easy-peezy rub-on, leaving room for a handwritten note.
BEAN NOTES: (Unless otherwise noted, all materials are Stampin' Up): Patterned Pines Stamps; Chit-Chat Rub-On; Bravo Burgundy Classic Dye Ink; Very Vanilla Craft Ink; Stampin' Write Marker (Bravo Burgundy); Bravo Burgundy and Very Vanilla Cardstock; Spellbinders Classic Circles and Petite Scallop Circles Nestabilities; Foam Dimensional Squares (generic); Kate's Paperie Ivory Satin Ribbon; Slit Puncher (generic)
HAPPY BEANS: Kaiser Rose Pearls
**If you would like to order these or any other current Stampin' Up products, please feel free to contact me HERE.

A "Micey" Nice Wednesday...

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Jen's I{heart}2Stamp Sketch For You To Try is always fun, and it's been too long since I've given it a whirl. This week, her sketch had me stumped for the longest time, until I ran across these two adorable mice. I thought I'd do something different by using holiday colors on a "non-holiday" card. I hope everyone has a "micey" nice day!
BEAN NOTES: Penny Black Micey Nice Clear Stamps; Stampin' Up Basic Black and Riding Hood Red Classic Dye Ink; SU Stampin' Write Markers (Real Red, Old Olive, Creamy Caramel, Blush Blossom, and Close to Cocoa); SU Riding Hood Red Designer Series Paper; SU Whisper White, Old Olive, and Riding Hood Red Cardstock; Quickutz Stripes Label Embossing Folder, Spellbinders Classic Oval and Classic Scallop Oval Nestabilities; Big Shot, Basic Grey Red Buttons; Kate's Paperie Olive Organza Ribbon
HAPPY BEANS: Ranger Christmas Red Stickles; SU Hemp Twine

Halloween Holiday Hop!...

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Welcome to the Holiday Hop!

With THREE holidays rapidly approaching, an amazing group of Stampin' Up demonstrators are hoping to provide a little creative inspiration. Mark your calendars for a few days of fun to get you in the holiday spirit! From rubber stamps, designer paper, to embellishments, and much more, Stampin' Up! has a lot to offer. TIP: Save the date on your calendar for the next hops. You won’t want to miss out!

Halloween – October 13, 2009 (Today!)

Thanksgiving/Fall – November 10, 2009

Christmas/Winter – December 1, 2009

Hop How-To

Click on any of the sites listed below. You can also follow the full Holiday Hop from start to finish by clicking the “next blog” or “previous blog” graphic at the end of this post.

With Halloween just around the corner, you can be sure there will be lots of treats (and hopefully not too many tricks!) For the Hop, I decided to go spooky, as I haven't yet made any scary cards. This one was very simple, and very easy to create. I wanted to play around with my Uni-ball Signo Gel Pen from SU and drew in a web on Basic Black cardstock. To up the "creep" factor and to add a sense of texture, I added small dots all around the weblines. I love the Eat, Drink, and Be Scary** set and inked up the tag image with my Stampin' Write markers so that I could highlight the word "scary" in Real Red. Using a marker, I added some drip lines. While the tiny spider on the tag is cute, I wanted a bigger spider to go along with my web and cut the eight-legged creature from the "Happy Fright Night" image, adding some gemstone eyes. I chose to stick to a Real

Red, Basic Black, and Whisper White color combination, which kept things neat and tidy. Boo!

BEAN NOTES: (Unless otherwise noted, all materials are Stampin' Up**): Eat, Drink, & Be Scary Stamps; Stampin' Write Markers (Real Red and Basic Black); Whisper White, Basic Black, and Real Red cardstock; Foam Dimensional Squares (generic); Clear Gemstones (generic)

HAPPY BEANS: Uni-ball Signo Gel Pen

**If you would like to order these or any other current Stampin' Up products, please feel free to contact me HERE.

We’re thrilled to have you visit and excited to hear what you think of our hop. Feel free to leave as many comments as you’d like along the way.

LET THE HOPPIN’ BEGIN!

1. Kris (Kween Bee Kreations)

2. Carla (Carla's Scraps)

3. Linda (Stampin' Seasons)

4. Melanie (Oops a Daisy)

5. Mary (Stampin' Pretty)

6. Trish (Soul Stamper)

7. Jill (Stamping Heart)

8. Liz (DIY Paper Creations)

9. Kim (Stamp, Scrap, Get Kreative)

10. Kalshelia (Stampin' Fabulousity)

11. Regina (The Stampin' Bean)

12. Margaret (Margaret Moody)

13. Debbie (Stampin' Sunshine)

14. Ann (Stampin' Chic)

15. Gina (Cards by Gina)

16. Lourdes (Cozy Crafty Corner)