LEAVES AND MORE LEAVES

Well I think it is official -- Michigan probably will not be feeling any 80 degree weather for a while!  Actually, I prefer 75 degrees unless it is breezy and no humidity.  But who cares when you can look out your window and see all the cajun craze, summer starfruit, more mustard, rasberry ripple, garden green, so saffron, and so much more.  What a panorama of color!  (My stomach growls every time I name those colors -- LOL.)  Doesn't it just get your artistic side itching to create something?  It does for me, so you will be seeing some of creations today influenced by my outdoor view.

Before I get to that, just a short note to tell you I'm getting in the Christmas mood (I hate to jump into Christmas until I have had plenty of time to play with all my fall colors).  Today I am prepping for my Christmas card stamp-a-stack class.  Stampin' Up (SU) really knows how to celebrate for Christmas with so many awesome stamps and accessories.  Check them out in the 2012 Holiday Mini Catalog after looking in the Holiday section of the large Stampin' Up! Inspire, Create, and Share Catalog.  If you don't have these catalogs, give me a call to find out how you can get them FREE.  SU offers so many stamps, beautiful and unique accessories, and kits that all coordinate to match (you can't get this at a craft store); allowing even a novice to become an artist.  Take a few minutes today and give me a call so I can help you be the artist you have always dreamed about being.  Here are a few samples of what you can do:

This is what I get to see outdoors right now!!   I used my SU Sponge Daubers to apply the ink on the leaves, and lightly tapped a tiny bit of  Rasberry Ripple in the center using a piece of  Stampin Sponge.  I then crinkled the cardstock in my hand, unwrapped it, laid it face down on my Early Espresso Ink Pad, and pushed it down with Stampin' Up's Clear Mount Acrylic Block E to make the leaf veins.

This card features the awesome Orchard Harvest Designer Series Paper with the Wonderfall Stamp Set, Autumn Accents Bigz Die, and Houndstooth Embossing Folder.

I got this idea from a swap card (sorry, no name) and changing it a bit.  Love the owl in the tree!!

You really can't tell by this picture, but I used the faux mother of pearl technique on the Apothecary Accents Framelits Die panel and on the leaves.  This card features the Blooming With Kindness Stamp Set.

Until next time,
Sandi

"You are my rock and my fortress; for your name's sake you will lead and guide me."

-- Psalm 31:4

MY SWAP CARDS ARE DONE!!

I think all stampers can relate to me when I say, "I work best under pressure."  Why is it that I always procrastinate until the last moment?  Maybe it is because I know I have no other option but to stay focused and get my work done.  This does not apply just to my stamping -- but everything I've done since I have been retired.  When I worked and was raising my children, I had to stay on top of everything or check myself into a mental hospital.  Now, I think I can wait because nobody is pressuring me.  Well I now have every day packed with things to do on my check list before I can step foot on the plane to Stampin' Up Convention!!  This just doesn't work well for a Type A person!!

So I am so very happy to say I have my swap cards done.  After I get done with this post, I will run over to my daughter's to water her garden, clean the kitty litter, play with the cats, and sweep up their messes.  I have been house sitting all week and this is my last day.  Wahoo!!  Two things off my check-list.  Still have lots more to do today, but those are 2 biggies!!  Okay, now for my swaps:

As you can see, they are all the same -- but different.  (Hmm, that sentence must have a grammatical error in it somewhere.)  My goal was to create swaps that were easy to duplicate in a Stampin' Up Workshop or card class.  So these cards were way out of the box for me, and the best I could do as WOW cards are very difficult for me.  Product used:  Stippled Blossoms, Flowering Flourishes, Blooming With Kindness, and Forever With You Stamp Sets; Fan Fair and Comfort Cafe Designer Series Paper; Very Vanilla and Soft Suede Card Stock; Midnight Muse, Rasberry Ripple, Summer Starfruit, and Soft Suede Classic Ink; Rasberry Ripple, Midnight Muse, and Summer Starfruit 3/8th-Inch Satin Stitched Ribbon; Bigz Clear Oval Accent Big Shot Die; Basic Pearls; and Dimensionals. 

Until next time,
Sandi

"I am God, and there is none like Me."  -- Isaiah 46:9
"To fully understand God is impossible; to worship Him is imperative." -- Author Unknown