Figgy Pudding Post

I just can't get enough of Winter Post this week, so what better way to finish off the week than to use it for Jen's Saturday Sketch For You To Try paired with Basic Grey's yummy Figgy Pudding papers?! The encircled image is stamped and paper pieced using various papers from the Figgy Pudding paper pack, topped with another circle of acetate and edged in Dazzling Diamonds glitter. The sentiment is a combination of sticky letters from the same paper pack along with "Christmas" spelled using a Hero Arts alphabet. A few wonky stitches and snowflake brads hold it all together.

Can't wait to see what the SFYTT team has for us in store today, especially Jen's November Guest Designer, Becca Feeken--her designs have been ultra fabulous this month! Thanks for playing along, Becca--each of your designs has been nothing short of a feast for the eyes! Be sure to check out the blogs below and Jen's blog as well for her and Becca's samples. If you have a chance to play along, be sure to use the keyword: SFYTT if you upload to Splitcoaststampers so we can see what you've created!

Jen/Becca
Susan
Shannan
Carole
Amy

Stay tuned...we added another member to our family yesterday, so I'll try to get a picture or two uploaded to show off Idgie (named after a character in one of our favorite movies, Fried Green Tomatoes)!

Card deets
Stamps: Winter Post (SU!); Hero Arts alphabet
Paper: Basic Grey Figgy Pudding paper pack
Ink: Stazon Brown; Ranger Distress Inks Walnut & Aged Paper
Accessories: Making Memories snowflake brads, sewing machine/thread, acetate, circle punch, Dazzling Diamonds, SU! rub-ons Season of Cheer

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to pop in to wish you all a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving today! I'm also going to quickly share two versions of a card I made for SC204 (Wednesday Sketch Challenge) over at SCS yesterday. They are pretty much the same with changes in colors, paper and ribbon.

Click here for all the deets on card #1.

Click here for all the deets on card #2.

Click here to see my friend Kelly's (atomicbutterfly) SC204 card featuring Winter Post in a whole different color scheme. Kelly is the reason I ordered Winter Post in the first place--gorgeous samples!

{Love} Postage

Kim Hughes has done it again--another "must have" set called The Birds & The Bees, available through Cornish Heritage Farms. For a couple of weeks after its release, I convinced myself that I could wait to order it, but of course that didn't last long as you can clearly see.

There are so many key-ute samples using this set in the CHF Gallery and I wanted to do something a little different with it, so I stamped the bee images with a sentiment from PTI and numbers from Hero Arts to create an oversized postage stamp. Pretty simple, straightforward stamping as you can see, so there's not much else to chatter about! I'll list the materials I used below.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving all, and thanks for stopping by Ink About Me today!


Details
Paper: Basic Black, Vanilla, Mustard DSP (Level I hostess); Daisy D's Autumn Collection 6x6 pad

Ink: Versafine Black Onyx, Ranger Distress Ink in Walnut for a bit of sponging

Stamps: CHF The Birds & The Bees; PTI Faux Ribbon; Hero Arts Alphabet

Accessories: black satin ribbon (recycled from somewhere!), Heidi Grace stick pin, My Pretties bead and pearl, jumbo black brads, Fiskars decorative scissors

In love...

...with my Birds & Blooms dies that came with the Big Shot bundle I ordered recently! It all started with the Believe Journal I created using Jen's Saturday SFYTT this past weekend. The more I used that sweet bird and the accompanying blooms, the more I liked 'em. Silly me, thinking I didn't really care for that whole set of dies, I'd just wanted the Pillow Box and Top Note Bigz dies that also came in the Big Shot bundle, ha!

If you'd like to see the evolution of my love story, scroll down to Saturday's post and then back up--there's a plethera of cards (ok, just 3 of them, but I love that word!) using the Birds & Blooms dies, as well as Mr. Top Note!

Today's card uses a bit of the retired Spring Silhouettes DSP along with retired Soft Sky cardstock. I guess I was on a roll with retired products as the stamped sentiment and frame are from the retired set, Noteworthy. In hindsight, I should've aptly named this post: Something Old, Something New?! Back to the card...just a couple more details to share: the edges of my love bird are lightly sponged with (retired!) River Rock ink with Linen Thread tied around the 5/8" grosgrain and sentiment layer; pearls are from the My Pretties kit; and the flower is from that bag of unmarked flowers, so I have no source for them, but I can tell you they're "prima-like" in nature!

Here's something for you to try--pair up something old with something new today!

So Thankful...

...for my Big Shot and Top Note Bigz die! I know what you're thinking--enough of the Top Note die already, but I'm just not ready to move on. It's been the mainstay of my go-to sketch lately, and that's a good thing! I'm also so thankful for Kiwi Kiss! I tell you that color goes with everything and for every season. I sure SU! takes a second look at KK and integrates is somehow into their color family(s)...perhaps as a new neutral?! I paired Kiwi with patterned paper from Daisy D's Autumn Collection 6x6 pad, a Chit Chat rub on, and a die cut flower using the Birds & Blooms dies. A button tied with linen thread finishes the flower and this one's ready to head out to the mailbox!

ETA: I decide to whip up one more using the same layout and same Daisy D's paper pack. Here she is:

Have a great Sunday and don't forget to be So Thankful for something today!

Believe...

Christmas can be such an overwhelming affair...if you let it. I gave a bit of advice to a dear friend and relative of mine who was feeling a bit overwhelmed with the thought of everything she'd like to accomplish before Christmas. My advice was to write things down, make lists, check things off or eliminate items that just don't merit the anxiety that accompanies them. As I sat down to work on Jen's SFYTT, I decided to use the sketch for the cover of a journal/notebook of some sort for her in hopes that she'd take my advice (am I full of myself or what?!) and ultimately ease her mind.

What luck--I'd picked up this 5 1/4 x 7 1/8" chipboard album on clearance at Target yesterday and it was perfect for my project. The album was actually part of a Halloween album complete with die cuts, ribbon, etc. that I'll put away for next year. I covered the album with Cosmo Cricket's Wonderland patterned paper and stamped minimally using stamps from PaperTrey Ink's Out On A Limb and CHF's Joyeux Noel sets. The die cut bird is Stampin' Up's Birds & Blooms and the flower peeking out is another from an unmarked bag of die cut blooms I picked up at my LSS last week, no source.

Be sure to check out Jen and Becca's sketch samples at iheart2stamp.com, and then look for more inspiration from Amy, Carole, Shannan and Susan. Last but not least, don't let the upcoming holiday season overwhelm you, do what you can when you can!

{love note} sketch

This is a challenge combination of SCS's Tuesday Color Challenge (193) and Wednesday Sketch Challenge (203). The colors this week are Kraft, Real Red and Basic Black, and a link to the sketch challenge can be found right here.

I'd read Taylor Van Bruggen's blog yesterday about using good old Crayola colored pencils to color an image and decided to do the same. I colored my image with Stampin' Up's watercolor pencils and then blended with a blender pen. I can definitely use a lesson or 10 in coloring, and I almost didn't upload because of my inept coloring/shading {skillz} but decided that it's ok to show my weaknesses to the stamping world. Please go easy on me!

If you haven't participated in some sort of stamping challenge this week, get out there--find one that you like--go for it!

{Happy} Holiday Inspiration!

Ever wonder where the {inspiration} comes from? Well, I'm going to share with you the inspiration for today's cards that I'm about to show you. The first card was inspired by a cool photo card I found on Shutterfly and the second card was inspired by an ad in People magazine (11/24/08 issue) for a Hallmark Channel Original Movie~An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving.

Click here to view the inspiration from the Shuttefly card called Holly Chocolate. After much searching, I was unable to find the exact ad for the Hallmark Channel movie, but it featured a soft navy background with white snowflakes alongside a picture of Jacqueline Bisset in character with the movie information. Sorry about that, but if you click here, you can get all the deets on the movie!

Be sure to look around...there's inspiration everywhere!

Sugar & Spice

Jen gave us a fun sketch to work with this week, and I decided I'd get a head start on my niece's birthday card using it. My niece is definitely sugar & spice, and she's sort of into horses (what 7 year old girl isn't though, eh?!), so I combined two Cornish Heritage Farm sets, For The Men and Little Gal. I also dug through my stash of patterned paper to find this retired SU! Rebecca paper pack. Not a whole lotta stamping here, but sometimes less is more!

You can look for more sketch inspiration over at Jen's blog as well as the original sketch. She and Becca no doubt have some fabulous cards ready for your viewing pleasure. Then scoot over to the other sugar & spice gals on the SFYTT team to see what they've been up to!

Amy
Carole
Shannan
Susan

Have a great weekend all!

{PMS) trio

I'm sure you're wondering what PMS stands for, but it's not what you're thinking! PMS in this case stands for Purchase More Stamps, and that's the name of a stamp club of which I act as the SU! demo. PMS is not just your ordinary group of stampers, it's a close knit group of friends and rellies whom I really enjoy spending time with, stamping or not! The stamping part just gives us an excuse to get together on a regular basis, wink!

Here's a trio of projects I'm planning to do for our upcoming get-to-gether this weekend. All supplies are SU! with embossing on the Season's Greetings card and Big Shot dies used on the Merry Christmas card and pillow box & tag projects. Can't wait to see you girls on Sunday!

Supplies:
Stamps--Snow Swirled, Mr. Twigster, All Holidays
Paper--Kiwi, Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Black, Kraft, WW, Holiday Treasures DSP
Ink--Basic Black, Real Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Versamark
Accessories--black ep, Felt Flurries, gold cord, RR 5/8" grosgrain, Big Shot, Top Note & Pillow Box Bigz dies

On my mind...

Can't step away from my Big Shot and Top Note die this week, so here's another quick and easy card with lots of punch! Patterned paper is from Daisy D's Autumn Collection 6x6 pad--gorgeous colors and patterns. The sentiment is from SU!'s Upsy Daisy set and the flowers are from a bag of assorted crushed velvet blooms I picked up at my LSS the other day--no brand name, sorry! Everything is set on a base of Really Rust cardstock which has become one of my favorites lately.

Have a relaxing and peaceful Sunday. Give your family a big hug to day and show 'em a little {love}!

Urban Prairie Chica!

I was so excited to find a sheet of the Basic Grey's Urban Prairie paper at my LSS the other day and just had to use it for Jen's Saturday Sketch For You To Try! It's just fun and whimsical, so sweet...or should I saw "tweet"?! I also found a 6x6 pad of Daisy D's Autumn Collection at the same store and by golly, some of those gorgeous papers just happened to coordinate with the BG paper!

I used a combination of Inque Boutique and Cornish Heritage Farms stamps. The scroll across the bottom is from IB's Narrative Elements and the the bird bath and chica are from the Kim Hughes Collection--Mocha Chica & The Landing Pad. My cute little chica is watercolored with reinkers and the flower embellishment is topped with a button and snip of pink gingham. Oh, almost forgot: The Kiwi Kiss grasses around the bird bath are from SU!'s Pocket Silhouettes, and I used a scroll like stamp from SU!'s Carte Postale, kissed it to the inked bird bath stamp for a more ornate look. Kissing is good!

Be sure to check out the other chicas' sure-to-be swell creations as well as Jen and Becca, her November guest designer (I just peeked and they both made fabulous Christmas cards!).

Jen/Becca
Susan
Shannan
Carole
Amy

Now for the deets...
Stamps: Inque Boutique Narrative Elements; CHF Mocha Chica & The Landing Pad; SU! Carte Postale & Pocket Silhouettes

Ink/reinkers: Versafine Black Onyx; Taken with Teal, Pirouette Pink, Ruby Red, Soft Sky & Kiwi Kiss

Paper: Basic Grey Urban Prairie; SU! Kiwi Kiss; Daisy D's Autumn Collection

Accessories: flower, button (source unknown); SU! pink gingham

Good Luck!

First off, I have to apologize for the fuzziness of my photographs...hmm, thinking little George has been checking out the camera lens as well as all of the pictures of himself on the memory card! It's always a challenge to get a good photo in un-natural light as well, so that's probably part of it. I think I'll put a light tent (is that the proper name?) on my Christmas list. Ok, enough about that; onto the card!

As you know from the previous post, I finally got my Top Note Bigz die in the mail this week, and haven't been able to put it down...I really {heart} it! This card is for my dear daughter, Kendra. She's in our local highschool musical which opens tonight, so of course I had to stamp sumthin' up, right?! Actually, now that I think about it, I didn't stamp a darn thing on this card--it's all die cut, rub-on and embellies. I'll list all the deets below, because if you're like me, it's much easier to pick things out of a list versus narrative form.

Here goes...
Paper: Basic Black, Certainly Celery (SU!); A Little Whimsy (TAC)
Accessories: Top Note Bigz Die & Large Oval Punch(SU!), gingham ribbon, rhinestones, rub-on (Creative Imaginations)

If I don't see you sooner, be sure to stop over Saturday for Jen's Saturday Sketch...later, gator!

Top Notes Three!

Well, Monday came this week and so did my Top Note die from Stampin' Up!--triple yeah! Last night I found a little time to start playing around with it and came up with these three cards. Two of them feature sets from Cornish Heritage Farms and the other features Stampin' Up Ski Slope Designer Series Paper and a sentiment from the Snow Swirled set. The one thing they all have in common is the layout using a sentiment banner flocked with embellies. See the details at the bottom of this post for all of the materials used.

Hello
Stamps: Garden Friends (CHF)
Paper: scrapbook basics neutral (Making Memories)
Ink: Versafine Black Onyx
Accessories: buttons, May Arts striped grosgrain

Bye Bye Birdie
Stamps: The Landing Pad (Kim Hughes Collection/CHF)
Paper: DCWV; Making Memories Ledger paper
Ink: Ranger Distress Inks Walnut Stain
Accessories: Crystal Effects (leaves), staples, button, clear pebble, 1" circle punch

Season's Greetings
Stamps: Snow Swirled (SU!)
Paper: Ski Slope DSP (SU!)
Ink: Chocolate Chip (SU!)
Accessories: Felt Flurries, button (SU!)

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to have a {top note} day!

Trio of Pillow Boxes

If you read my post from this past Thursday, you heard all about the pity party I was throwing for myself because I hadn't received my pillow box and top note dies from SU! before Halloween. I'd really wanted to use them to make treat holders for the biggest treat day of the year but had to do without them. Well, guess what?! My pillow box arrived on Friday which was still too late for Halloween, but I got a chance to play with it this weekend and came up with this variation on a theme: pillow box ala hand cut/stamped tag. I've been really drawn to my CHF stamps as of late and incorporated them on all three tags.

Sweet box/tag
Paper: DCWV textured cardstock
Ink: Versafine black onyx
Stamps: Kim Hughes Little Gal (CHF); So Very (SU!, retired)
Accessories: Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain, faux thread, black gingham, black eyelet, Crystal Effects (cherry)

My Guy box/tag
Paper: Basic Grey Recess; Tangerine Tango
Ink: Versafine black onyx, Versamark
Stamps: The Rummage Bin For the Men, Kim Hughes Little Guy (CHF)
Accessories: black hemp, black eyelet, jumbo eyelet, button, sewing machine/thread

Warm Wishes box/tag
Paper: silver, Very Vanilla
Ink: Encore silver, Riding Hood Red
Stamps: Joyeux Noel (CHF)
Accessories: Felt Flurries, silver eyelet, silver cord, 1 1/4" striped grosgrain

hey dude...

...like where did October go?! Is this just another proverbial sign that I'm getting old(er), the weeks and months flying right past me like {dude} here on his skateboard? No need to answer; my question was purely rhetorical in nature...seriously! If this IS the case, remember: don't take life too seriously; enjoy it, have some fun, buy new rubbah!

One of the things I'm enjoying in life right now is Jen's weekly SFYTT and here's another fun one for you to try as well! My skateboarder dude is wearing my favorite color right now, Kiwi Kiss with a layer of Crystal Effects. You can see his trail on the Tempting Turquoise banner marked with PaperTrey Ink's Faux Ribbon with a drip of CE in the middle of each adjoining circle. Why am I telling you this? Because the CE isn't showing up in my photo and it looks pretty gnarly in real life, he he! (ETA: I took a close up shot of my dude that clearly shows his glossy CE exterior!)

Be sure to check out more tantalizing inspiration from my gal-dudes: Susan, Carole, Amy & Shannan! Oh hey, guess what the new month brings us?! A new guest designer for November...be sure to go over and give her some love at Jen's blog! Finally, when you finish your SFYTT card today (see how aggressive I'm getting...I said when, and not if), use the keyword SFYTT when uploading to Splitcoast and/or leave a link to your blog in the comment section of Jen's blog post for today.

Later dude(s)!

Deets
Stamps: PTI Faux Ribbon; CHF Little Guy, Broad Stripe
Paper: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Really Rust, Kiwi Kiss
Ink: Kiwi reinker, TT, Versafine Onyx Black
Accessories: Crystal Effects, color spritzer tool, button, faux thread, black brads, punches: curly label, large oval