Mini pizza box fun!

I spent some time over this long weekend playing with new products.  I had more fun creating with the new pizza boxes!  They are food safe so perfect to give as a gift with a cookie or some candy inside.  Another great gift idea is to fill them with 3 x 3 cards - we now carry envelopes for those.  Those 3 x 3 cards would be perfect to use on gifts. I'm planning a class for this in October - watch my weekly email for details.   Here's what I created with them:

I sponged this pizza box with Pumpkin Pie ink.

I'm loving this new cat punch!

The boxes look great left white. I created a belly band for this one.

It slips off easily so the box can be opened.

There are so many possibilities for these pizza boxes!  I'm sure I'll be creating more fun projects soon!

Fun with Embossing Paste

I am officially an empty nester now.  We moved my youngest son to college 2 weeks ago. It's been very quiet around the house!  But on the bright side, I had time on Saturday to just sit & create.  It had been awhile since I took time to do that - it was so fun & relaxing.  I decided to play with my embossing paste.  I'd made 1 or 2 cards with it before.  This time I decided to try some new techniques.

Here's a photo of the tools I used:

Aren't those masks fun?!  I decided I wanted to make something with each one.

Here's the background I made using the clouds mask:

This was made using the embossing paste just as it comes out of the jar. I used a die cut oval in the middle to keep the clouds just on the outside. I knew I wanted to use the flying pig from the This Little Piggy set.  Here's the card I ended up with:

I stamped a few clouds in Soft Sky to go with my flying pig. The pig stamp has a saying at the bottom of it that I didn't want on this card.  So I put a piece of scotch tape over the saying when I inked up the stamp.  Just be sure you remove the tape before stamping on your paper! 

This background was also made with the embossing paste as it came out of the jar. But this time I put it on one of the gorgeous wood Designer Series papers:

I didn't want to cover up much of this beautiful design. So I used the cat punch from the new Holiday Catalog (available Sept 1st). I punched it out of Shimmery White card stock and colored it with an aqua painter to look like a Siamese - simple but elegant:

Then I decided to try coloring the embossing paste. I took a little bit and put it on my Silicone sheet and added a drop of Pumpkin Pie reinker:

I made this background and one that covered the whole piece of card stock.  This is the card I created with the piece that was fully covered:

This uses some new dies from the 2017 Holiday Catalog.  I just love this pumpkin die!

I've been wanting to try this next technique with the embossing paste.  For this one I used the brick mask.  Right after applying the embossing paste (after removing the mask), I sprinkled copper embossing powder on it.  I set it aside & let it dry for a little bit before heating it.  I didn't get a picture of the background by itself but this is the card I created:

I think this is my favorite!  I also used one of my favorite new sets - Painted Harvest.

I had so much fun spending the afternoon playing!  I need to make sure I do that more often.  I just got another fun bundle today from the Holiday Catalog.  I'll have more to share with you next week!

This Little Piggy

Just a quick post to share one of my favorite stamp sets from the new catalog.  We got to see this set in action at On Stage in April.  While everyone else was picturing cute, pink pigs - all we could see were red Razorbacks!

So of course we had to make some in card class last week.  These are the 2 cards we made:

The pigs were stamped with Archival Black on Shimmery White card stock.  Then we used an Aqua Painter to color them. You can find lots of cute examples with this set on Pinterest. Let me know if you'd like to add these cute hogs to your stampin' stash!

Climbing Orchids

My parents have grown orchids since before I was born  So when I saw the Climbing Orchids stamp set in the new catalog, I knew I would have to get it. The orchids in this stamp set are Phalaenopsis or 'moth orchids'.  They are probably the most popular orchid sold, you can usually find them at your local grocery store.  Most orchids are epiphytes.  This means they don't grow in soil, but get their nutrients from water and air. In tropical areas, you will find orchids growing outside on trees. Ok, that's enough orchid facts for today. 😊   How about seeing some cards made with this gorgeous set?

This card is quick and easy. I stamped the orchids 

in Powder Pink and the Sheet Music in Early

Espresso.  I also used the new Ruffled textured 

embossing folder.

For this card I used the coordinating

framelit to cut out the orchids and buds. 

I stamped the orchids in Rose Red on 

So Saffron card stock. I used the Petal 

Burst embossing folder for the background.

I got this idea from Robin Messenheimer. 

This one is stepped up a little more. I used the

coordinating framelits to cut out pieces of the

orchids and then assembled them on the card. 

They were stamped in Peekaboo Peach and I

used Chocolate Chip for the sentiment & branches.

The background paper is from the Wood Textures

Designer Series Paper Stack. 

I had so much fun creating with this bundle.  I can't wait to send one of these cards to my parents - I know they will love it!

Memories & More

I'd forgotten how much I enjoy memory keeping! Last week I had a Memories & More event. Here are a few of the pages I made - these took me maybe 30 minutes total. This type of memory keeping is so quick and easy.

It was so fun to look back at these pictures from several years ago. 

Such a good feeling to get these pictures out of a box and into an

album where the whole family can enjoy them!

I'll have another introductory event later in July.  Watch email for the exact date.  I also will be starting a monthly event where we can get together and get caught up on our photos. The first event will be Aug. 18th at 6:30.  You'll have access to my stamps, ink and die cutting for a small fee.  The fee will be waived with a minimum order.

Bring a friend and you each get to pick something out of my prize basket:

Mega BOGO fun

We had such a great time Saturday at our Mega BOGO event.  Thanks to everyone that joined us.  And especially thanks to these 3 ladies - I'm so thankful we get to stamp & travel together!

Here are some other photos from the event

We had 4 make and takes:

Patience's make and take using the Easter Palace bundle - gorgeous!

Kay's make & take using Pocketful of Sunshine bundle - very cute!

My make & take using Tranquil Tulips - my favorite

I did not get a picture of Elizabeth's make & take - people were making it and I 

didn't want to interrupt.  It was an adorable card using the Lemon Zest bundle.

But here is a picture of her with her yummy snacks!

At our Product Playground, we had the new planner (love it!), the Soft Sayings kit, the Color Theory Suite and some of the new Dynamic Textured embossing folders.

And of course, we had A LOT of items for sale! For every dollar you spent on the sale tables, you got to pick out that much from the brand new catalog.  Everyone had fun picking out new and old products.

 And we had a display table full of examples using new products - great place to take photos!

We had so much fun that we're already talking about when we'll do it again. 

And if you missed out on this event, I am going to have my BOGO set up at card class on July 6th.

Tranquil Tulips

This is my favorite new set at the moment.  Here are 3 cards I made with the set:

This is the card I made for the online swap I participated in. It

uses 2 new In Colors - Fresh Fig & Lemon Lime Twist. I love the

contrast between them. I also used some of the new Finely Woven ribbon.

These tulips are in another new In Color - Berry Burst. I love how

the new Wood Textures paper looks with the tulips.

This one I copied from the catalog.  I just changed a couple of things to use what I had. 

 These tulips are also in Berry Burst.  It's such a nice bright color for tulips!

This set is a hostess set so it's only available if you host a party.  I would love to help you earn this. Just invite some friends over and I can come share our love of stamping with them.  I'm booking parties for June now so contact me today to book yours.

Don't forget about the Mega BOGO & Catalog Launch on 6/17.  The deadline to RSVP is soon.  You should have received an email with more  info yesterday. Let me know if you didn't or if you have questions.   Hope to see you there!  You can see these cards and many others in person!