Acorn Card

I fell in love with the acorn card that Kim Hughes created in the latest PaperCrafts magazine (October 2008), and I just had to get the pattern and make my own. I traced the template onto Creamy Caramel and Close to Cocoa cardstocks and cut them out. When I looked around to decide what to stamp this with, I went to my Cornish Heritage Farms backgrounder stamps. The cocoa cs is stamped with Tiled Scallops backgrounder, and the caramel is stamped with Fine Houndstooth Scrapblock. I sponged the edges with Walnut Stain distress ink to "age" it a bit.

The little tag is stamped with "Enjoy" from Baked with Love (Cornish Heritage Farms) and tied on with some twine that I got from Ellen Hutson's store. This is such a cute little card to give with a pecan pie or some cookies with some nuts in them. Hmmmm...... I think I need to go bake something now. :-)

Stamps: Tiled Scallops backgrounder, Fine Houndstooth Scrapblock, Baked with Love (all from Cornish Heritage Farms)
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Walnut Stain distress ink
CS: Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, White
Other, sponge, twine

A Christmas Wish

You are seeing a sneak peak of a new Stampin Up set that will be in the new Holiday Mini catalog. This is called Home for Christmas. This is the first set that screamed out for me to buy it. :-)

I stamped the image with Chocolate Chip classic ink, and colored it in with a combination of markers and watercolor pencils. I only used 2 watercolor pencils - white and a dark hunter green. I used the green pencil to color in the wreath and the swag.

Did you see the little white felt snowflake at the top? That is a new embellishment that is also in the Holiday mini catalog. I love these felt snowflakes!!! They come in a set of 3 colors - white, red, and Baja Breeze. You'll be seeing more felt snowflakes over the next few months as we get closer and closer to Christmas.

Oh my gosh - just a little over three more months til Christmas!!! We better get those cards done!


Stamps: Home for Christmas, Itty Bitty Backgrounds, Sanded
CS: Real Red, Handsome Hunter, Kraft
Ink: Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Going Gray, Creamy Caramel, Summer Sun, Bordering Blue, Sahara Sand
Other: watercolor pencils, sponge, distressing tool, Chocolate Chip narrow grosgrain ribbon, Felt Snowflake, dimensionals

Where to find Shimmerz

Several people have asked me where to find the Shimmerz paints. Here is where I bought mine:

Jacksonbelle Embellishments

You can also look at the Shimmerz blog for more ideas. Keep in mind, these are little pots of paint, so you will need a paintbrush to apply the paint with. You probably "could" use your finger if you are in a hurry, LOL! The colors are yummy, and I love the shimmer. I only bought a few colors for now, but I would love to have ALL of them. :-)

The color I used on my card HERE is called Angel Wings. It doesn't really have a color. In the pot, it looks white, but it really goes on more as a clear shimmery glittery color. I'll have to play with the other colors to see how they look.

One thing to note - if you are painting this Shimmerz over a colored image, be aware that some things will run. If you color with dye-based reinkers/inkpads, these colors will most definitely run. If you color with Copics or Prismas, these will be fine - no running nor smearing.

In the card I mentioned before, I had used Ranger Distress inks, which are dye based. I had sponged Broken China along the snowdrifts, and then colored on top with the Shimmerz. The blue ink did actually start smearing and running a little bit, but it was okay for this particular card. I just wanted to let y'all know before you start coloring and ruining your project(s) and yelling at me. Hee hee hee!

That said - check out the sites I posted above and have fun looking at all the colors! Let me know which ones you pick! :-) (BTW - Lindsey from Jacksonbelle said she has more Angel Wings on order - I told her to stock up!! LOL)

A Rare Friend

I participated at the release party for the new SNSS stamps last weekend. They had a few challenges and one was a sketch challenge. This is the card I made for that challenge. Since I don't have many SNSS stamps (I only have Chocoholic - of course...), I was so happy when they said we could use any stamps for the challenges.

If I would have had some of their wonderful Scripture stamps, I would have used one of those on this card. It would have been beautiful on here! I rooted around and found this quote from Cornish Heritage Farms to use instead. I just love how it all came out.

Stamps: Friend Centers (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Ink: Chocolate Chip
CS: Pink Pirouette, Artichoke, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Basic Grey Sugared
Other: Chocolate Chip wide satin ribbon, primas, dew drops

Doodle Poinsettia

Are you in the mood for Christmas yet? It's still in the 90's here in Texas, and I am sooooooo ready for cooler weather. I made this quick and simple card to get me started on my Christmas cards.

I stamped the big flower from Doodle This onto Real Red cardstock two times, and once on Glorious Green cardstock. After I cut them out, I turned them over so the stamped image was on the back. I took each petal between my fingers and just sort of curled them over to give them some texture. I also smooshed my ink pads over them (Real Red on Real Red, and Green on Green) to give them additional depth.

After I let them dry, I simply put a green flower on the bottom, and two red ones on top of that, staggering the petals. I punched out the middle and put a yellow rhinestone brad in the center, and attached the whole thing to the card with dimensionals. These would make some fast and easy Christmas cards! :-)

Stamps: Doodle This, Many Merry Messages
Ink: Basic Black, Real Red, Glorious Green
CS: Real Red, Glorious Green, Kraft
Other: Fire square rhinestone brad

Shimmerz Sleigh Ride

I had to see how this looked, and it turned out pretty similar to what I "saw" in my head. Wouldn't you just love to go on a sleigh ride in the skies with Santa??

I tore the white papers at the bottom, edged them with Broken China distress ink, and then covered them with Angel Wings Shimmerz. Oh MY! I love these Shimmerz!! (I got mine from Jacksonbelle Embellishments - such a sweet gal!) These shimmerz are little pots of paint and they are incredibly shimmery. Check out more information here: Shimmerz Blog. You have got to try these!

This Angel Wings is a white-ish, clear-ish paint, and it was perfect for new-fallen snow in those snow drifts. Don't you just love how fresh snow seems to sparkle? (I'm speaking from gilded, long-ago memory here...... LOL)

All the stamps on this card are from Cornish Heritage Farms. They are part of the Rummage Bin line. I just love the vintage-y looks of these stamps.

Stamps: Primitive Christmas, Winter Vintage Signage (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Ink: Broken China & Vintage Photo distress inks
CS: White
Other: sponge, Angel Wings Shimmerz paint, paintbrush, Stampendous Turquoise Sparklers

Belli Challenge #31 - Back to School

This week's Belli Challenge is a theme - Back to School. I don't really have any "school" stamps, so I figured an apple card would be close enough. A child could give this to his teacher any time of the year.

I thought I would give you a little tip regarding the new Scallop Edge punch that is new in the Fall/Winter 2008 Stampin Up catalog. After you have punched out your row of scallops, save the little strip that is left over from the punching. You can see I used a tiny green strip of cardstock at the bottom of the red apple paper. That is the leftover piece after I punched out my scallop edge. :-)

Check out what the Belli Team has designed for this challenge:

Debby McGivillary http://debbysstampinheaven.blogspot.com/
Laurie Serino http://www.stampingforgodsglory.blogspot.com/
Shelly Koskinen http://shellysstamping.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Greco http://glitterinmyhair.blogspot.com/
Chris Dickinson http://www.chrissyd723.blogspot.com/
Christi Thorsen http://cici510.blogspot.com/
Lorie Ames http://www.live-love-laugh-create.blogspot.com/
Danita Hollander http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-Sq2CKRgzaK0KuqThCyDdel9j

Stamps: Tart and Tangy, Short and Sweet
Ink: Real Red, Chocolate Chip
CS: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Garden Green, Real Red, Summer Picnic dsp
Other: scallop circle punch, 1 1/4 & 1 3/8 inch circle punches, scallop edge punch, Chocolate Chip narrow grosgrain ribbon