Monday, October 22, 2012

Hello, Doily

Good evening Stampers!  Hope you had a wonderful weekend!  What did you create this weekend?

When the background stamp Hello, Doily first appeared in the catalog, last year I think, it was on my wish list but I never purchased it. When the new catalog was released this year I saw that the stamp set was now being offered in clear mount.  I created this card for the big swap I participated in and I knew I wanted to use to the new InColor-Raspberry Ripple and once I combined it with Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla, it makes for a yummy card! Once I stamped the image and mounted the cardstock layers, I ran it through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.  It gives it a vintage, quilt look, I think.  I kept the rest of the card simple with some crumb cake taffeta ribbon.



So did you watch any shows this weekend?  I recorded Once Upon a Time, Revenge and 666 Park Avenue-that show is creepy!  But not as scary and creepy as the new season of American Horror Story! Oh wow, I shouldn't watch that show at night! Well friends, I better start getting ready for sweet dreams.  Thanks again for stopping by.  We'll catch up again later this week.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Quint-Essential Thank You

Good morning friends!  Morning?  Yup, I decided to blog early today before the day gets away from me with chores and other things.  Before I forget, go and check out the Stampin' Up! Clearance rack, over 70 items were just added so if there is something you want, get it quick before it's too late!  I'm hoping to get some magnet sheets! You can shop directly from my online store here.

I still have a few more swaps to show you from the big all catalog swap. I really like the colors for this swap, I used Wisteria Wonder, Melon Mambo and Lucky Limeade.  I used the stamp set quint-essential flower.  I really like the stamp because it also coordinates with five of our punches; 2 3/8 scallop circle, 1 3/4 scallop circle, 1 inch circle, 3/4 circle and 1/2 circle.  The possibilities are endless!  I only used two punches in this card.  Using our itty bitty banners and coordinating stamp set is awesome.  Coordinating products just makes it so much easier for me to create.  The colors were recommended from our Color-Coach so how easy is that!  The fancy fan embossing folder also creates a nice background.


I also wanted to show you this card today as a quick thank you to all of you who are visiting my blog and leaving comments, THANK YOU!  I'm enjoying reading your comments and having fun sharing my creations with you all.  So thank you for allowing me to share my "stamping" "creations" and "life/vida" with you; hence my tagline, stamp-create-vida.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!  If I have a chance, I'll be back tomorrow with something new to share.  Hope YOU create something beautiful this weekend.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Halloween Swaps-Part 2

Hello friends, let me begin by saying "I'm sorry", I was not able to post last night.  I still post "live" instead of saving my post as a draft.  Last night we had a friend stop by to visit for awhile...so after a few cocktails, pizza and lively discussion, it became a really late night!  It was fun to catch up, but it was painful to get up this morning to go to work.  I tried posting this morning, but our internet was down, again! Sorry, so without further delay, below are the other four Halloween swaps I received.  These four cards use stamp sets from the current Annual Stampin' Up! Catalog.  Aren't they awesome!





Two quick shout outs: first to my friend and downline, Jacqueline.  She made this card for a Halloween swap at convention this year, her first of many! The boots move across the card! Second, to Jacquel, aka Jackie...I met her last year at my first convention and bumped into her again at convention this year...some friendships are just meant to be, I believe!  

Well friends, I better get going, gotta make dinner and finish doing laundry, on top of finishing my vintage Christmas swap.  Hope you have a great evening and I'll be back later this week with more new things to show!  Thanks for your patience.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Halloween Swaps-Part 1

Hello friends! Can you believe Halloween is only 15 days away! Wow, we must be having a blast!  So if you have been reading my blog (THANK YOU) you know that I'm addicted to swapping! But please don't stage an intervention, I know I will have some serious withdrawals from not swapping! Tonight I want to share some Halloween swaps that I have received from previous swap that gave me chills down my spine because I liked them so much!  I'll show a total of eight swaps, four today and four tomorrow.

These first four cards all used stamp sets from the 2012 Holiday Catalog. So many great stamp sets in that catalog, and you can't forget the paper and ribbon!  What I really like about these cards, of course because they are Halloween, is that it's a great card design and you can change it to match your own theme or a different holiday, don't you think?  To me, that's one of the many benefits of participating in swaps, you have endless inspiration!





Aren't these cards boo-ti-ful!  I would love to hear (or read) what you think, please leave me a comment.  Come back tomorrow when I showcase the other 4 fabulous cards! Have a great evening and thanks for stopping by.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Three's Company...



Hello friends! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  It was a busy and fun weekend.  I have three cards to share with you today.  My sister-in-law's baby shower was on Saturday and I didn't have to look far for inspiration.  When I went to convention this past July, I participated in a 3x3 card swap and I received 60 wonderful cards.  I received this great card from Connie Ingram, isn't it cute!  The dress is made with two of our punches, the owl punch and the scallop circle punch.  I love this little dress.  The card I made has a pocket to hold a gift card.  I had fun creating this baby girl card.

I also made a masculine birthday card for my boyfriend John.  Making masculine cards can be a challenge for me because I like to embellish my cards with ribbon or bling, and you sometimes have to be careful how you use them.  So I used the new In-Color-Midnight Muse with Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla.  I really like how it came out.  And the best part is he really liked my card! Yay!  Mind you, John is a graphic designer and he oozes creativity! Plus he has recently purchased several vintage bikes so the stamp set worked great.  This is a fun stamp set and can be used in so many ways.   Can you tell which tool I used yet again?  Hint, take a look at the previous post.


Well friends, sorry this is a short post.  I'll be back tomorrow to share more.  Have a great evening.  

Friday, October 12, 2012

Spice Cake Gifts



Hello stamping friends!  Hope you had a great Friday!  Did you do anything exciting on 10/11/12?  It's cool to see the numbers in that order.  Just a quick post tonight, I gotta make a baby shower card for my sister-in-law, a masculine birthday card for the love of my life and a few thank you cards, on top of working on...you guessed it...swaps, lol.

I have an awesome Upline-Maria Kosturik! We have been friends for several years now, I first met her at work and when I found out she was a Stampin' Up! Demo my heart skipped a beat!  I had been a demo before but unfortunately it wasn't the right time for me, I was only active for less an a year.  Maria and I became good friends and I knew that when I would made the decision to join Stampin' Up! again, it would be with her.  I'm so glad I did!  We can go hours talking about all kinds of things, especially stamping stuff.  And she is an awesome baker! She taught me the best way to make sugar cookies! Anyhow, we saw each other the day and she surprised me with some "just because" gifts!  Aren't those the best! She is also a sewer and using our wonderful fabric, she made a holder for my paper snips-best tool to use to cut paper, and a beautiful organizer for my paper piercing templates and mat.  I LOVE IT and I LOVE HER!! Thanks Chica! She and I are always sharing organizational tips and this is one cool way to organize the templates. Very cool and organized!  Now, I wish I could sew as good as her, but someday I do aspire to own a sewing machine and learn.  For now, I'll stick with trying to master paper crafts.

One other thing before I forget, thank you to design team from the Color Me Beautiful Blog Challenge, they chose my card as a winner, I'm a Color Explorer! This is the FIRST blog challenge I have won.  Yay!  You can see the original post here.  Thank you so much! If you haven't had a chance to check out their challenges, check it out here and participate.

Well, friends, hope you have wonderful weekend and I'll be back later to show you what new stuff I created.  Thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Color Me Beautiful #6


Hello Stampers!  I'm so excited to show the card I made for the Color Me Beautiful Color Challenge. When I first saw the color scheme, my first reaction was "Those are hard colors to use" and then didn't think about it.  Until the other night when the thought came to me in my sleep, does that ever happen to you?  My thought was to use the beautiful rose from the Papaya Collage stamp set.  Can you believe this was the first time I inked that image! Below is the color scheme.



Once I started inking the image I realized how beautiful the colors are.  They work great for any two-step stamping or creating definition. I stamped the leaf in Always Artichoke then colored it in with Certainly Celery.  The rose is stamped with Regal Rose then colored in with Pink Pirouette.  It came out so pretty.

I made the card a gate fold card using a 12x12 piece of card stock.  The base of the card is in Regal Rose layered with Basic Gray and Basic Gray dsp. I really like how the card came out and these colors as well.  I also stamped the inside of the card with the foliage stamp image. 


Well friends, I better call it a night, my internet is acting up. I'll be back later this week with another card.  Have a good night!




Tuesday, October 9, 2012

A Fitting Occasion...Happy Birthday



Greetings fellow stampers! What a day, my "other" job was stressful today, good thing, Lord willing, I get a chance for a do-over tomorrow.  When I have a stressful day I relax by creating something.  I completed a card for a blog challenge that I'll show you tomorrow.  This is another card...did you guess...lol...for another swap I made! Given how today was, the bright colors really cheered me up! Melon Mambo from the Brights family color is one of my favorites! Of course when I say it, I feel like shouting Melon "MAMBO" like Perez Prado and then do a little mambo dance, whatever makes us happy right! But seriously, with the four color families, plus the in-colors that Stampin' Up! has, the Brights has always been my favorite! With this card I used, pacific point, melon mambo (MAMBO), daffodil delight and whisper white.  The stamp set I used is called "A Fitting Occasion" and it is such a neat set! I earned this stamp set for free based off my sales during Sale-A-Bration. It also coordinates with several of our punches. I love it when our stamp sets coordinate with a punch, framelit or die. I also used the new chevron embossing folder and the Itty Bitty stamp set with the Bitty Banners Framelits.  Gotta love products that coordinate! And it's fitting that I have this card made because tomorrow is my younger sister's birthday, so now I have a handmade card to send her, yay!

Well friends, I better call it a night. Come back tomorrow when I show you the card I made for a blog challenge.  Have a good night!

Monday, October 8, 2012

Make a Cake


Hello stampers! Hope you all had a great weekend! Saturday was a lot of fun! I'll tell you more in a bit, but first things first, showing you another card I made for the all catalog swap. Remember, I joined 12 groups, over 200 cards made.  This card uses the "Make a Cake" stamp set along with the "Itty Bitty Banners" along with the bitty banners framelits dies. When I was first deciding on how to create this card, I used my Color Coach to figure out what colors go well with the one of the new In-Colors, Primrose Petals. The coordinating color is Pink Pirouette, along with Crumb Cake. I also used one of the sheets from the Patio Party dsp and the new fancy fan embossing folder.  I really like our paper piecer, it's so easy to use and adds a nice touch.

So this Saturday, we attended and participated in our first Tour de Fat bike event.  It was held in Tempe, at the Tempe Beach Park. This was the 7th Annual Event. We took our bikes and rode in the bike parade, which was a 3 mile ride.  Afterwards, everyone gathered at Tempe Beach Park to listen to bands, played various bike games and just enjoyed the awesome weather. Just a bit history on the logo on our shirts, the logo was called "Tico" and it was used on our public buses. It was a bright smiling sun with a sombero. Our t-shirts were a vintage throw-back to different times in Phoenix. If you're from Phoenix and took public transportation, do you remember Tico? Overall, it was a great event and we're already looking forward to next year.


So this week I'll be showing you more card swaps.  I also be participating in a couple of blog challenges. Thanks for stopping by.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Blessing from Nature

Hello stampers! What a long day!  We finished irrigation late into the evening so we had to pull out the spot lights.  The light shined onto our trees and I took a photo of one of our trees.  I keep wanting to decorate it for Halloween by hanging paper bats from it, or maybe ghosts.  But I haven't yet. Can you spot the doggy pool?



This is another card I made for the big catalog swap.  I used the new stamp set "Take Care" from the catalog.  The colors I used are very vanilla, pool party, soft suede, early espresso and midnight muse. The dsp is from comfort cafe.  I love, love, love the woodgrain embossing folder from the holiday catalog. I find myself using it a lot lately. 


We're gearing up for Tour de Fat this Saturday at the Tempe Town Lake. We'll be taking our bikes and going for a ride! We've never been so we're excited.  I hope to take good photos so I can share. I'm signing out for the night.  Until next time. Thanks for stopping by. 


Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Baby Love...

Aloha stampers!  Hope your week is going great.  Today is a sentimental day, my baby brother and my only brother, who is in the Navy set off on his 6th tour of duty aboard a Navy ship today.  He will be away for several months, not returning safely until mid 2013.  Sentimental because he and my sister-in-law are expecting their first child.  And they are having a baby girl! Unfortunately by the time he returns, the baby will be born.  But I'm sure we'll make sure he doesn't miss any special moments while he is away. I'm so excited for them.  I know they will be great parents. Excuse me while I wipe my tears of joy...

I shared these photos on my Facebook fan page (www.facebook.com/StampinChica), they are from a photo session with a professional photographer.  I think the photos came out beautiful!  You can read more about the photo session Here.


So I thought it would also be fitting a share another card I created for the all catalog swap.  I used another new stamp set from the catalog, called "Two by Two".  This is a great stamp set to color and you can't beat the price, only $8.95 in wood mount.  Remember, you can order directly from my on-line store 24/7.  The item number is 126788. I used neutral colors in my design, just in case the other swappers want to use my card.  And do you see I used pennants again in my card-though the one on the left is a bit crooked! Part of the handmade look right.  Pennants and banners are popular!  The base of the card is early espresso but it's such a dark color that it's not easy to write on, so I decided to layer it with whisper white card stock.  You can see it better on the bottom photo.  Now when you personalize your card, it's easy to read.  



Now that I know my brother and sister-in-law are having a baby girl, I can make them a girl card!  Or maybe that's just my excuse to create something new! What about you, do you prefer to make gender specific baby cards or neutral ones? 

Well I better call it a night my friends, got a busy day tomorrow and irrigation in the evening.  Maybe I'll post some photos of my doggies playing in the water!  Thanks for stopping by and please feel free to leave me a comment, I love reading your comments!

Good night.


Monday, October 1, 2012

Tricky Treats...


Hello stampers! Hope you all had a great weekend. Happy October 1st!  Hopefully soon the weather will change around here.  I'm continuing my sharing of the various cards I made for the all catalog swap.  I really like Halloween, like decorating for the holiday.  But where I live, we don't get any trick-or-treaters.  Boo. So I make do by decorating my office cube or my craft room if I get a chance.  Once I get it decorated I'll show you photos. For this swap I used the stamp set "Tricky Treats". It's a new stamp set in the catalog. I also used our marvelous markers to ink up the stamp image. At first it wasn't easy to color in the image with the markers, but you just gotta take your time.  Banners/Pennants are very popular right now and it was fun to make these. 

I also went bike riding this weekend.  It was fun!  I love my cruiser bike!  This is my bell on the bike! Pretty sweet huh! I'm also excited that my favorite shows are back with new seasons!  I can turn into a quick couch potato watching the new season of "Once Upon a Time", "Revenge" and "Sons of Anarchy"! What shows do you watch during the fall season?


Well friends, time to call it a night and dream sweet dreams.  Until next time.