Sunday, November 13, 2011

Rubbernecker Sisters Holiday Blog Hop!

First a Note from Jacquie with all the details you need to know!

Hello Rubbernecker Sisters!! HOP day has arrived!! The Stampin’ Sisterhood has LOTS to share today!! Thank you SO much for joining us! 

We thought it would be a GREAT idea to share some of our HOLIDAY images!! SO, sit back and ENJOY!!! Hey, and if you leave some LOVE at EVERY stop along the way? You will be entered into a RANDOM drawing for your choice of ONE Rubbernecker Stamp SET!!  A SET, not just one stamp!! Now, how AWESOME is that?! Mr. Rubbernecker wants YOU to be able to choose, so you will LOVE what you get!! BRILLIANT!!


OH, and if you want to join in the sharing? We will be starting some AWESOME Rubbernecker challenges on SUNDAY 11/20!! Hope you will join us for SISTERHOOD SUNDAYS!! We are going to have a BLAST!! Who knows? You could win a prize on SUNDAYS too!!!

Now that we've gotten all that info out of the way -  here is my project for the hop - 4 Christmas cards and a coordinating gift bag!  I got the bag at CVS.
I embossed each tree with either gold or silver embossing powder - then embossed the ornaments with gold if it was a silver tree and silver if it was a gold tree!  
I layered each image to a metallic gold card stock panel, accept for the bag where I used silver since the big eyelet on the bag was silver.

If the ornament stamp included a star - I did the tree in silver and the ornaments in gold.

When the tree stamp included the star - I embossed the tree in gold and the ornaments in silver.
 I used the stamps from  2 Part Christmas Tree Set #598 for my projects today.  The white and Enchanted Evening  card stocks are from Papertrey Ink, the gold metallic paper is from Mark's Finest Papers and the silver (framing the image on the bag) is Metallic by Grafix.
On the inside I gold embossed this lovely font Merry Christmas #387-10.  The gold and silver makes these cards quite elegant don't you think?!
These cards worked up really quickly  - just what we need during this busy holiday season when we want to make our cards but don't have a lot of time, right??!

Now - here are the links to all of the Design Team Members where you will find much more holiday inspiration!!   - remember to leave a comment at each stop for your chance to win!

You have until Thursday 11/17 to HOP! Our winner will be announced on the RUBBERNECKER BLOG, on Friday  11/18!!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

A Card in PaperCrafts!

Just wanted to share with you that I had a card published in the just released PaperCrafts 365 Cards!  Have you seen this great issue yet?  It's just loaded with cards for all occasions (365 cards in fact!!).


If you check out Page 112 you'll find my card - a card for when you really need to let your friend know you're sorry for something that came between you.
A very clean and simple creation -  just a piece of pretty patterned paper from Webster's Pages, the lovely sentiment from Fancy Phrases by Waltzingmouse die cut with Fancy Tags 2 Spellbinders!  I sponged the tag before taking it out of the die with Dried Marigold Ranger Distress Ink and popped the tag up on foam tape.  I added 2 rhinestones and that's it!

Check out the PaperCrafts blog to see how you could win a copy of this magazine.

Happy Saturday everyone!   Don't forget to check out the Waltzingmouse Saturday Sketch Challenge!

AND......  I hope you'll come by tomorrow for the Rubbernecker Stampin' Sisterhood DT Holiday Blog hop!  There'll be LOTS of holiday inspiration for you , as well as a chance to win a Rubbernecker stamp set of your choice!!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Waltzingmouse November SoAP CASE Competition Winner!

Hi everyone just dropping in to let you know the winner of the November Waltzingmouse Stamp of Approval Parade CASE competition has been chosen!

 Charmaine Stack CASE'd Tosh's beautiful snowflake tag and has been chosen the winner.
  Here is Charmaine's  lovely creation:

You can see Charmaine's 2nd tag and all the details of the competition on The Waltzingmouse Blog here.
You'll find all of the entries here.

Big Congrats to you Charmaine!!

Please be sure to leave some love for Charmaine and the other participants if you have some time. Next Thursday, Nov. 17th is the Friends of WMS Blog Waltz, and we hope you will participate in that also! Details for that and the thread to sign up are on the WMS Forum!

And the Waltzingmouse Saturday Sketch Challenge will be posted here tomorrow!    So many fun things going on for us stampers!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

A Beauty All It's Own

Today my card was inspired by this poppy paper .   It's from a wallpaper site shown for the Inspiration Challenge over on Split Coast this past weekend.

 I fully intended to use a poppy stamp and emboss in white on red - but my poppy stamp didn't work out so I shifted to this pretty frond and lovely sentiment from Rubbernecker

In changing stamps I also changed to gold embossing on terracotta tile. Funny how you can start out on one road and then divert to another during the creative process!  I love the contrast of the black butterflies - mine are Martha Stewart Punches.

We're almost back to summer here in New England -   temps are going to be in the 60's and may even hit 70!  and last week we had a snowstorm -  I don't know what clothes to put on every morning when I get up!?!?!

Stamps: Rubbernecker - Frond from Fall Trilogy set # 480, Nature Gives #200-03
Paper: True Black, Terracotta Tile - PTI
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Versamark Watermark Ink
Accessories: Gold embossing powder, hot gun, glue dots, Martha Stewart Butterfly punches,

Monday, November 7, 2011

God Please Bless Katie


I am deeply saddened to post this note from Kate from I {heart} Papers, who sponsored the Keep Swimming fund raiser for our stamping friend Katie Renz who passed away this morning after her year long most courageous battle with stage 4 stomach cancer.  Many of us participated in the Swimming for Katie blog hops.

This was Kate's e-mail today:

Dear Swimmers,


It is with a very heavy heart that I write to you to let you know that Katie has passed. Early this morning at 5:10am PST she passed peacefully in her sleep, surrounded by her family until the very end.


Please take a moment to update your followers and blog readers with this news. We had such an overwhelming support for the Swimming for Katie hop and fundraiser and I know they would want to know this news. The donation link is still live, as is the static page with the fundraising items for sale. All the information is HERE. So, if people feel so moved, they still have the opportunity to purchase or donate.


Sympathy cards can be sent to:

The Renz Family
PO Box 5913
Bellingham, WA 98227-5913


Also, in case you're interested, the twins, Nate and Will, will be turning 6 on Nov. 19th and Hunter will be 12 on Dec. 1. It would be wonderful if we could shower them with cards for their special day, just like their mom would do. Kevin's birthday is November 17.


I am at a loss for any other words other than thanking you from the bottom of my heart.


Thank you.
With deep sadness...
Kate
i {heart} papers, LLC


Katie -  I know you are now pain free with a new healthy body resting in the arms of God so my prayers are now for those left behind -  Nate, Will, Hunter and Kevin as they adjust to a life without you, their beloved mother and wife -  and our dear friend. 

Here are two pictures Katie's husband Kevin posted on her blog the other day.  They are of Katie with her boys.



Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Text It, Asian Garden Additions, Very Vintage Labels No. 10

Paper: River Rock, Basic Gray - SU, White - PTI
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Ranger Distress Antique Linen
Accessories: Labels 10 and square Nestabilities, foam tape, gem - Michaels.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Time Together - A Little Treat Box



What a FUN free 4 all challenge over at Split Coast yesterday  - 6" of fun - in this sweet little box!  It starts as a 6"x6" piece of paper - and when it's all folded up the base is 2" square.  Here are views of the side and back:

and here is how it looks opened up!
I'm hosting Thanksgiving with my family this year so I've been thinking about what I might have at each person's place at the table - and this will be it!  You can fit 2-3 Hershey Kisses inside or maybe a handful of nuts!

The pattern and instructions for this sweet thing are here in the SCS forums.   This is Wendy's pattern for a 6"x6" piece of patterned paper or card stock.  The top flap is a piece 4" x 2" and you use a piece of velcro to hold it closed.

and here are Wendy's instructions:

It uses one 6 x 6 inch piece of cardstock, scored in thirds tic-tac-toe style, at 2 and 4 inches, so its overall size is approximately two inches.  It actually works best with patterned paper, as it is not a s thick as cardstock, and folds much cleaner and easier.

All of the horizontal and vertical lines are folded peak-style, while the diagonal score lines are folded valley style. Add a 2"x4" piece of patterned paper, folded at 2" along the 4" side and adhere to back of box. I used a Velcro dot to close the box.


My sentiment stamp from the Butterflies are Free set by Rubbernecker is perfect for Thanksgiving - don't you think?? That's what Thanksgiving is all about - spending time together!

Now I just have to make 7 more - glad I'm not hosting a bigger crowd!! Although these do work up quickly once you figure out the 'hill' and 'valley' folds!!

You will find all sorts of variations of this cute little box in the Split Coast Free 4 All challenge gallery here.

Oh -  and it's Saturday -   don't forget to check out the Waltzingmouse Saturday Sketch!


Stamps: Rubbernecker - sentiment from Butterflies are Free set #538
Paper: dark chocolate, rustic cream, Textstyle Turning a New Leaf - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Ranger Distress Tea Dye
Accessories: Rhinestones - Kaiser, 2" circle punch & 1 3/4" circle punch - EK Success, velcro - Staples

Friday, November 4, 2011

WMS November SoAP - Day 4 - Everything Christmas

Welcome to the final day of the Waltzingmouse November Stamp of Approval Parade (SoAP)!  I'm sure you've gotten a lot of good ideas for Christmas creations over the past 3 days - I know I have!

As usual - on the last day of our parade - we announce a CASE competition - see all the details at the end of this post!

Today I found inspiration in my Pottery Barn Catalogue with this festive 'Santa and his reindeer' pillow. 

Claire's Twas the Night Before Christmas set has the perfect images to recreate this pillow.  

First I stamped the background story image on my red panel with gray ink so it's there but just subtly.  Then I dry embossed a mega rectangle Nestability in the center of the stamping. I tied twine and a little jingle bell around the panel.   I stamped Santa and his sleigh on a Rustic Cream panel, cut it with a mega rectangle, and adhered it inside the frame using foam tape.  Inside I stamped 'Believe in the Magic' from the same stamp set.
My last inspiration for the SoAP, was again from a Pottery Barn Catalogue -  these simple brown paper wrapped boxes caught my eye!  Particularly the lighter text panel wrapped around the middle of the larger box!
I made my box out of kraft card stock using a tutorial on Split Coast.  It's an A2 card box - which means cards will fit nicely inside!  Here are 3 views of my box.  I cut panels of patterned paper for the top and sides of the cover and sponged all the edges with Tea Dye Ink.
 I tied the box with a simple narrow velvet ribbon from Michaels.

For the text panel -  I cut a piece of brown packing paper 14" x 4" (the paper came in something I ordered!)  I stamped the "A Visit from St. Nicholas' story stamp from Twas the night before Christmas set 3 times on the strip.  Then I sponged the edges with Tea Dye Ranger Distress ink.  I wrapped it around the box and adhere it to itself where it overlapped in the back. You can see I did not try to get the wrinkles out of the paper - I did smooth it with my hand to stamp it, but didn't iron it smooth!

 Here's a close up of the tag which fits the Labels 14 Nestabilities.

 And here are the 6 simple Thank You cards I made to tuck inside the box with envelopes.  I just adhered panels of patterned paper to Kraft cards and stamped Thank You from Say it Loud with black ink.  I thought Thank You cards would be a nice little gift at Christmastime - we all receive gifts or go to parties during the season that require a little note of thanks back to the giver.  But this box is also perfect for gifts of cookies, tea, candy or even a gift card!

 Here's a view of the bottom of the box.
 
 The ribbon and text panel will slide right off the box without damaging it so it can be kept for another purpose after the cards are used up!
I hope you have been inspired by my 'catalogue' inspirations these past 4 days -  remember to check out your catalogues when you need a card or craft idea!

So let's go see the rest of today's final parade on the blogs of the Design Team who are participating!

Anya Schrier
Becca Feeken
Clare Buswell
Julia Aston - you're here!
Jennifer Holmes
Kate Whelan
Kelly Schirmer
Laurie Schmidlin
Lynn Mercurio
Mona Pendleton
Sandie Dunne
Tosha Leyendekker
Claire Brennan (Owner)

INFO ON THE COMPETITION:
We hope that you have enjoyed, and been inspired, by our Stamp of Approval Parade; highlighting Claire's lovely Christmas and holiday sets. Now it’s time for you to get your craftiness on as we invite you to participate in a CASE (Copy and Share Everything) competition.

Find a card or project from any of the projects posted over the past few days by the WMS Design Team, CASE that project using Waltzingmouse Stamp images, and link it using the Inlinkz on Claire’s blog.  At the end of the competition, one project will be randomly selected to be highlighted with a Parade of its own on several of the Design Team blogs. 


You have one week to complete and link your project

The competition will close at 8:00 AM Claire’s time on November 10th, which is 3 AM Eastern, 2 AM Central and Midnight, Pacific time. The winner will be announced on Claire’s blog on November 11th.

A Visit from St. Nick:
Stamps:  Waltzingmouse - Twas the Night Before Christmas
Paper:  Pure Poppy, Rustic Cream - PTI
Ink:  Palette L'Amore Red, Memento London Fog
Accessories:  jingle bell from bell wreath kit - Michaels, Mandarin Bakers Twine - the Twinery, foam tape, Mega Rectangle Nestabilities.

Wrapped Card Box:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Twas the Night Before Christmas, Say It Loud
Paper: Kraft, Text Style Holiday Cheer - PTI
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Bamboo Leaves, Ranger Distress Tea Dye.
Accessories:  Velvet Ribbon - Michaels, Labels 14 Nestabilities, Cappuchino Baker's Twine - The Twinery