Wishing You a Doggone Happy New Year!

Hi there and Happy New Year!  Hope you had a good time ringing in the New Year...nothing too crazy, though.  My granddog, Rocky, was freaking out with the fireworks.  Whenever he heard them, he'd stand by the front door and bark.  Such a good dog protecting me!  Speaking of dog, I have a dog card for you today.  (How about that segue?)  A similar card was given to me by a fellow Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and friend, Diane Mikles.  The Top Note die was used as a backdrop, which was layered onto a background stamped with the bone image from Hot Diggity Dog.  His head and ears were made using the Decorative Label punch.  A combination of circle and heart punches were used for his face.  The final touch was a sentiment from the Lovely Amazing You set. 

That's it for today.  Have a great weekend and thank you so much for stopping in for a visit!

Love and Sympathy Swap

Hi there!  Hope everyone had a good weekend.  There was a lot of partying in conjunction with the Super Bowl yesterday - despite the weather!   Mary Taylor and I felt it was in everyone's best interest to reschedule our Card Buffet for Feb 15 due to the icy conditions.  Saturday it rained all day, then the temperature dropped below freezing that evening.  It isn't going to get above freezing all week!  I stayed all cozy and warm in the studio working on future projects.  Speaking of projects, how about a couple since I didn't get a chance to post Friday?  The first card was Diane Mikle's shoebox swap.  She used the Love & Sympathy set, which is a great set made for these occasions.  The background panel was embossed with the Decorative Dots embossing folder.  This is just one of the Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration products that can be earned FREE with a $50 purchase (excluding tax and s/h).  The stamped sentiment was cut out from a new Occasions Catalog item, Starburst Framelits die.  This was then matted onto a piece cut from Midnight Muse with the Deco Label Framelits.  Such a beautiful card.

Here is Kim Coulter's swap.

The honeycomb background was cut from a new item, Hexagon Hive Thinlits die, which can be found on page 26 of the 2014 Occasions Catalog.  The flower and bee images on the focal piece can also be found in the Occasions Catalog (page 21), called Springtime Hello.  A hostess set in the annual catalog, Express Yourself, was used for the sentiment.  The Tea Lace Paper Doily, Linen Thread, and pearls finish off this stunning card.

That's it for now.  Your visit today is very much appreciated!  Thank you!

Just a Note

Hi there!  Here we are in the middle of the week - again.  Boy the weeks sure seem to go FAST!   Let's not waste another minute and get to today's project. 
Normally, I don't make 3-D projects but this little tote containing 3x3 notes and envelopes was just too cute not to replicate!  Pam D'Urso invited us Demos for a stamping retreat weekend at her home this past summer.  When Diane Mikles and I saw Pam's tote, we CASE'd hers but used different paper for our versions - some retired Not Quite Navy cardstock and DSP.  Pam gave us some written instructions with measurments, but I honestly don't remember the person's name who wrote the tutorial.  The stamps we used came from the Postage Due set and were then punched out with the coordinating punch.  The border strip was made from an image found in Mosaic Madness.  The Decorative Label punch was used to create a "handle".  The only directions I could find that are similar to Pam's version were on Beth Beard's blog.  You can view her video here.  This would make a darling little hostess gift.  The holiday season will soon be upon us and that means parties to attend!  I'm just saying... 

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted.

Must run some errands.  Thanks for stopping in today!

Sunfower and Butterflies!

Hi there!  Today I have a couple more Shoebox Swaps from our Demo retreat at Pam D'Urso's the first of the month.  The sunflower was Deana Schultz' swap.  Remember, our challenge was to make a one-layer card with no more than two embellishements.  The Sunflower image was stamped in Early Espresso ink, then Daffodil Delight ink was sponged on.  The center of the sunflower was embellished with small flowers made with a punch from the Itty Bitty punch pack.  The flag counted as the second embellishment, which was made with a new stamp set -  Banner Greetings.  Seems I got a bit carried away with my sponging. Oops!

The next card was Diane Mikles' swap.  The Daffodil Delight area was masked off so that the ink could be sponged into that area.  The butterflies from Papillon Potpourri were then stamped in black.  The sentiment is from Perfectly Penned.  Such a simple technique but a great look!

Must get going to work on some projects for our Card Buffet next month and another Shoebox Swap.  At least I got the grocery shopping out of the way yesterday!  Thank you for stopping in today!