Fall Is Finally Here

Well I must say that I'm quite excited about this card. It is one of the new sets from the Holiday Mini. I received it as a gift and I just LOVE IT!!! It's just the perfect set to watercolor to. Something I think looks great, but I seriously need more practice at. The set also comes with a Halloween face to make it a bit more versatile. I used the masking technique for this, meaning that I stamped one of each size pumpkin on a plain piece of white paper, cut them out, and placed them in the picture to stamp over, so the lines to the pumpkin in back would not show through. I love the look of this, though I rarely have the patience to stamp and cut an extra anything, much less two of them. For this it was so worth it. I love the way it turned out. I also did some sponging with the creamy carmel around the edges. It seems that I am in sponging mode at the moment. Everything I do seems to need a little bit of sponging to give it that something extra. Hopefully the weather will cool off soon and really start to feel like Fall.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Autumn Harvest
Paper: Watercolor Paper, Only Orange, Always Artichoke

Ink: Black, Only Orange, Creamy Caramel
Other: Watercolor crayons, Only Orange and Always Artichoke, Vintage Brads

Halloween Card

Where has the time gone? I can't believe that it is nearly October! The bonus of this time of year is fun Halloween cards as well as the beautiful colors of fall for some amazing Thanksgiving and Harvest cards. Today I am highlighting a card we made at Stamp Camp last week. I just love it! The designer paper completely sets the mood for this card. As you can see, it's a pretty simple layout with light stamping. We used the rock and roll method to add some definition to pumpkin. For those of you who have not heard of the rock and roll method, it means that the pumpkin was initially stamped in a light color and then we took a darker color and rolled it only on the edges of the stamp. It's a terrific look, when I remember to use the technique. :-)

A Sketch Challenge For A Card?

Have you ever participated in a sketch challenge? I didn't really understand what they were until recently. Since then, I've seen them on several different blogs. One of my very favorite blogs to visit is that of Beate Johns. fresh & fun. She is such an amazing talent. If you haven't been to her site before, I HIGHLY recommend that you stop by. Beate recently posted the attached as a sketch challenge. You don't have to use the same colors, but the challenge is to create a card with that layout. I was initially a bit nervous about this undertaking, but found that in the end it was quite challenging for me, but a lot of fun. I have also since noted several bloggers have shared that the weekly challenges they participate in truly help them to become more creative with their own cards. SCS (Splitcoaststampers) not only weekly sketch challenges, but weekly color challenges as well. I will try and post my first completed sketch challenge later in the week, and just maybe…….I'll get brave and go for the color challenge next week. Here's hoping you are able to make some time for stamping in your day.

Where Do I Begin

Once you decide you want to start stamping, it can often be overwhelming when deciding what products you must have verses the products you initially need. Thankfully there are all kinds of resources out there to help the new stamper. One resource I highly recommend is Stampin' Up (http://www.stampinup.com/). They offer a variety of kits entitled Simply Sent (they are located on pages 12-14 of the 2007 Fall-Winter catalog). The kits are all slightly different, but all include cards and envelopes for 10-12 cards, pre-cut paper, mini ink pads, a stamp set, glue dots, various embellishments, and a book of step-by-step directions to create two different looks for your card. I ordered the Simply Sent Good Things kit from their Spring Mini Catalog earlier this year and had a blast with it. After making the initial dozen cards, I was left with the three stampin, spots which still have plenty of use in them, and the stamp set itself. I recently saw an idea from one of their older catalogs and decided to modify it by using the Good Things Stamping set. I also used some spring colors. As you can see, it's a very simple and quick card to make. In the most recent Stampin' Up Catalog I referred to earlier, they have included some new sets with some great embellishments like the zig zag ribbon and Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter. I think it really allows the new (and the seasoned) stamper to try new products, see what they like AND once they've finished those cards, inspire some creativity to find some new ways to use the stamp set. If you get a chance to try them out, let me know what you think.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Simply Sent Good Things
Ink: Versamark, Basic Black
Paper: Apricot Appeal, Whispering White
Other: Almost Amethyst Ribbon, Mellow Moss and Apricot Appeal Stampin' Write Markers