Fun Fold Reindeer Card

You might be thinking that it's too early for reindeer, but crafters often have to work ahead of seasons and holidays!  Thanks for indulging me!

One of the perks of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is all of the training and support you receive, should you choose to take advantage of it. As part of an ongoing series of video training, I was invited to attend an evening of virtual stamping last month with the Stampin' Up! demonstrator support team. We participated in a mystery stamping (among other fun things) where I made this card. 

What is Mystery Stamping?  Everyone is given the same instructions but not the finished product.  You craft together and then share your unique creations.  (We might have some mystery stamping tonight at my virtual craft night!)  For my card, I used the Reindeer Fun collection, with Garden Green, Real Red, and White Willow card stock.  I added a little red gem from my stash to make "Rudolph's" nose.  The red panel tucks under the triangle and then opens up to expose the inside of the card.

Sundays Are for Sketches: #22 of 22

Here is the final installment of the twenty-two sketches found on p. 22 of the 2024-25 Annual Catalog.  I hope you've enjoyed this series as much as I have!

For my card, I decided to fussy cut two snow globes out of the Snowy Scenes paper.  I used the Snowy Wonder stamp set to stamp the snowflakes in Pool Party and then I stamped the sentiment with Garden Green.  A little green twine finished off the card.

I'm also sharing this card at the Christmas Crafts Year Round blog for their October Snowman challenge.  (You still have a few days to share there if you'd like.)

As always, I'd love to see what you make based on this sketch.  Feel free to leave a photo or a link in the comments!

Fall & Family Layout

We recently had a lovely weekend spending time with family on both sides. Since I’ve been on fall break and had some time to myself, I was able to go ahead and scrapbook these recent photos and memories. 

I wanted to use some of the splendid autumn 6 x 6 DSP, and I made it work well with photo mats from the backside of the DSP and the addition of crushed curry and Mossey Meadow card stock.

I thought that the design was a little too plain, so I grabbed an old brick stencil and used Cajun craze and earliest espresso ink to create the bricks in the corners.

I thought that the crushed curry and the DSP textured leaves were a little plain in conjunction with the Macey Meadow seasons of elegance DSP de cut leaves, so I sponge some gold and copper enamel effects onto the leaves. I also ended up, distressing them a little bit with early espresso ink. I really love how the two clusters came together. They added a ton of interest to the layout without Detracting from my photos (In myOpinion) 

This last photo isn’t quite as interesting, but I added a lot of family history, and who is related to who and how on this strip of card stock. I want my girls to know exactly who is who and how they are related, but I didn’t feel that anybody flipping through my scrapbooks would necessarily want all of that history. So, after writing on the 3 1/2 x 12“ white willow card stock strip, I created a pocket on the back that the large journaling strip can slide through. That way you can pull up with the tab, read the information, and tuck it back in behind the layout fairly easily. Time will tell! Lol.

Be sure to share all of your story, even if you need to have the partially hidden. You and those after you will be very glad that you did!

{Layout 48/52}

First Day of School Layout (2024)

First day of school photos are a tradition that my husband still helps me with!  Though I made this layout a month or so ago, I forgot to post it!  I thought that the muted colors of the Wildly Flowering DSP were a good match for my first day of school outfit.  I used Crumb Cake, Wild Wheat, and Early Espresso card stock plus the White Willow base pages. 

Paper tearing helped to soften some of the hard edges of the layout, and I like the effects of tearing both the solid core card stock and the white core DSP.  I stamped the title and date with a retired CTMH alphabet stamp set. 

{Layout 47/52}

GACIS Conference Layout

With fall in the air and the Changing Leaves bundle on my work table, I decided that it was time to scrapbook photos from a conference I attended last fall.  (I had to attend this year's conference virtually thanks to Hurricane Helene.)

I began with White Willow card stock and Wildly Flowering DSP.  I decided on a sketch from (retired) Close To My Heart's Make It From Your Heart (not sure which volume) that I modified to fit my photos.

I stamped my title with Crumb Cake using a retired CTMH alphabet stamp set.  I had a lot of fun mixing and matching the Crumb Cake & White Willow die cuts to create the embellishment clusters.

Be sure to label the people in your photos because over time you may not remember who everyone is!  (TRUST ME on this one!)

I really love how the Changing Leaves bundle accented the beautiful DSP and helped move your eyes across my layout.  Try to work in odd clusters like the there that I used here.

{Layout 46/52}

Sundays Are for Sketches: #21 of 22

It's time for the penultimate sketch from p. 22 of the 2024-25 Annual Catalog! 

Since fall has arrived in my neck of the woods, I used Splendid Autumn DSP, Cajun Craze ink, Changing Leaves dies (cut from White Willow), and the Charming Duck Pond stamp set for the sentiment.  I wrapped some neutral tones (Copper Clay) twine around the sentiment panel and then popped it up with Mini Dimensionals (3D foam tape).

I love how the pretty DSP can be the highlight of the card!

Happy 18th Birthday Card

Time certainly flies, and it seems almost impossible that my nephew turned 18 yesterday!  (We had a lovely dinner together hosted by his parents.)  I made this gate-fold card for him based on Tuesday Morning Sketch #778.  (The sketch reminded me of making a similar card last month.)

I started with a Night of Navy cardstock base which I scored a 1.5" and again at 5.75".  I added pieces of Take to the Sky DSP that I stamped with images and sentiments from the August Paper Pumpkin kit.  I decided to add the "belly band" to keep the card closed (plus to have a little surprise underneath).  The band was pretty plain so I added the stamped candles to it.

When you remove the band, you see the 18 "candles"- just the numbers stamped with the candle flames added on them.

I continued the motif with more stamping on the White Willow panel on the inside.  I hope my sweet nephew likes his card (and the cash that came with it)!

Card CASE: Mini Catalog, P. 34

In the crafting world, CASE means "copy and share everything" or "copy and steal exactly" or basically copying an inspiration.  I recently found the Stampin' Up! Only Challenges blog, and their current challenge, SUOC #362 is to CASE the Holiday Mini Catalog using p. 34 as inspiration. 

I used the top left card as my inspiration to create these two cards from one piece of Wildly Flowering DSP, the Changing Leaves bundle, and the birthday sentiment from the Labeled with Love stamp set.

The first card used Wild Wheat and White Willow accent only.

For the second card, I used a combination of Crumb Cake, Wild Wheat, and White Willow stamped and die cut pieces.

I really can't decide which card I like better.  I love that I was able to make two cards from one pretty piece of DSP.

Changing Leaves Cards: Two for One

Recently I needed to make six cards, so I decided to try to work smarter!  I inked up the large and medium leaves from the Changing Leaves bundle in Wild Wheat, Mossy Meadow, and Cajun Craze.  I stamped onto the first card front panel and then immediately onto the second panel (without reinking) to create the dark and light versions of the leaves.

I added gold mesh leaves and Wild Wheat and Mossy Meadow leaf card stock die cuts behind the sentiment label (also stamped in Mossy Meadow) and then adhered the entire panel onto Wild Wheat card stock bases.  I included a White Willow panel on the inside of each card to make it easier to write my messages.

It's fun to "mass produce" cards, assembly line style, when you need to make a lot of them and don't mind if they look alike.  All six cards followed this formula, but no two were exactly alike.

Changing Leaves Anniversary Layout (2024)

This week, I am featuring projects with the Changing Leaves bundle, which includes a photopolymer (clear) stamp, dies, and a hybrid 3D embossing/die cutting folder.  (You can learn more HERE.)  This collection was a fun way to accent our anniversary layout from this summer.

I began with the bold Full of Life 6"x6" DSP and picked out a few of the patterns that I thought coordinated with my photos.  I ended up cutting two piece of the "rainbow" DSP to make the two 12"x12" strips on the sides.  I used Real Red two-tone card stock (both sides) and die cut a journaling heart and two accent hearts out of DSP and card stock.  I stamped a few accents from the Sentimental Journey stamp set.

Don’t be afraid to add some dimension to your scrapbook layouts! I wanted the family photo to really be the focal point of my layout, so I use 3-D dimensional thumb tape to pop it up from the page and then did the same thing for the journal heart die cut.

Adding the leaves really took this layout from plain to gorgeous (in my opinion).  The leaves aren't just for fall!

{Layout 45/52}

Sundays Are for Sketches: #20 of 22

Here is the next installment of sketches from the 2024-25 Annual Catalog.

It's really beginning to feel like fall here!  I used the Changing Leaves bundle, Seasons of Elegance DSP in Pretty Peacock, and White Willow cardstock.  Rather than make a banner, I used die cut leaves and the mesh gold leaves tied with a gold metallic twine bow.   With the splatters of gold foil and the 3D embossed panel, I decided to add a sentiment to the inside of the card rather than the front.

Don't be afraid to change up a sketch- either the design elements, rotate the sketch, etc.  I can't wait to see what you create!

Nests of Winter Card #1

This card uses the Winterly Tree Tops stamp set and dies in conjunction with the Nests of Winter paper pack and Crumb Cake card stock.

After coloring the stamped images with Stampin’ Blends, I decided to add the Cherry Cobbler banner accent from the Seasons of Elegance DSP. 

Who would you send this card to?