My Blue Suede Boots

I was really drawn to the picture of the blue western boots that Erica chose for this month's Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge.  So much so, I'm playing with the challenge for a second time with my recently acquired stamp set.

I was thinking about what to title this card... blue suede boots or sh**-kickers.  Well, that's what we used to call our boots when we were kids.  The picture immediately reminded me of the boots I saw when we were in San Antonio for the Leadership Conference last January.

Not blue, but nevertheless, eye-catching.  I also realized that I have purple western boots, and I so should have worn them to San Antonio.  Silly me!

The layout was taken from the Stampin' Up catalog, directly from a sample for this set.  Now, did I fall in love with this set because of the sample, the layout, the colors?  Hard to tell, but I couldn't resist recreating it with the challenge's colors.  I used the polished stone technique on the boots.

Stamps: Bootiful Occasions; Paper: Summer Starfruit, Tempting Turquoise, Glossy White, Whisper White, Houndstooth & Scaringbone DSP; Ink: Black Stazon, Tempting Turquoise reinker, Soft Suede reinker; Accessories: Brights button, White baker's twine, 2-1/2 Circle punch, Corner Rounder punch, Chevron EF, Big Shot, Dimensionals.

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Bootiful Witch's Boot

There is a lot of cute broom ideas I've been seeing, including ones with licorice "sticks".  I thought it would be fun to create a little broom for an embellishment on a card.  And it is a great excuse to use my new Bootiful Occasions set.

I glued raffia strips to a long, thin strip of copy paper, then wrapped it around the lollipop stick and secured with baker's twine.  Like a real straw broom, eh?

I pulled out Rita's Freshly Made sketches for this card.

Stamps: Bootiful Occasions; Paper: Lucky Limeade, Tangerine Tango, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Howlstooth & Scaringbone DSP; Ink: Black Stazon, Lucky Limeade marker, Tangerine Tango marker; Accessories: Calypso Coral baker's twine, 1-1/4" Circle punch, Pinking Hearts punch, Circle Scissors Plus, Spider Web EF, Circles #2 die, Matchbox die, Big Shot, Lollipop stick, Raffia.

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SUOC56 Wild Safari

My daughter was invited to a Wild Kratts party, based on a PBS kids' show.  I have to admit, I hadn't heard of the show, and my daughter told me it was "Wild Crafts".  LOL!  This week's SUO Challenge is to create a project with any kind of animal.  This is a perfect opportunity to combine tasks.

A summary blurb about the show reads, "Join the adventures of Chris and Martin Kratt as they encounter incredible wild animals, combining science education with fun and adventure, while traveling to animal habitats around the globe."  I thought Little Missy was pretty spot-on when she chose In The Wild as the stamp set of choice.

I tried to lean towards the safari theme with the Netting background, hemp twine, and Crumb Cake card stock.  It was a bit of a challenge to make silhouettes out of the semi-solid giraffe and elephant stamps.  Coloring with a Sharpie created undesirable lines, so I basically tapped the Sharpie across the images.  I used a knot called a bungie knot to tie the hemp twine.

Stamps: In The Wild, Serene Silhouettes, Netting BG; Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Basic Black; Ink: Blushing Bride, So Saffron, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Suede, Basic Black, Basic Black craft, Black Sharpie pen; Accessories: Hemp twine, Silver brads, Sponge, Brayer.

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Free Make & Takes!

Each month I have a wonderful group of ladies that come to my house for stamp club or seasonal stamp camp, who place orders, and in exchange, make fun projects with their friends.  But what happens if you live far away or don't have the time and can't join in the fun?  Just for you, I'm announcing a new service for my internet friends...

As a thank you to my loyal customers who place online orders through me, I will now include a free make & take project with your order.  The make & take will include all supplies, stamped images, and directions to make your project.  You just need to supply the adhesive.  The featured make & take will change every month, and it will be mailed separately to your home.  Offer valid for U.S. customers only.

So you want to see what October's make & take is?

A ghoulish and fun coffin card with a surprise skeleton inside!  Here's my original post on this fun card.

I hope you enjoy this new perk as a loyal customer.  Thanks for stopping by!

FM80 Faux Washi Sketch

It is Tara's turn to host the Friday Mashup challenge, and she is teaching us a method to make faux washi tape.

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge:

1. Make a project with the "Sketch".
2. Or Make a project using "Faux Washi Tape".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project using the "Sketch and Faux Washi Tape".

I got the background stamp Happiness, with the blocks and the rubber sawed and cut into strips, from another demo, and I've held onto it all these years waiting for the moment for it to shine.  I think this was its moment!  (Are those angels singing?)

I used a different method to create my faux washi tape, because I really wanted to stamp it.  So I cut a 1/2" strip from my Sticky Pages sheet, applied white tissue paper, and stamped the tissue paper.  The Sticky Page adhesive is transparent, thereby giving the translucent appearance of washi tape.  I'll admit I've had washi tape on the brain ever since Bev's Dare to Get Dirty Challenge on SCS... although late, maybe I'll share this with her anyway.

Stamps: Trendy Trees, Happiness BG, Houndstooth BG; Paper: Soft Suede, Whisper White; Ink: Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight, Pool Party, Soft Suede; Accessories: Brights button, White baker's twine, Sewing machine, Thread, Tissue paper, Sticky Strip, Dimensionals.

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3-D Thursday: Ghoulish Googlies

Have you seen this cute Ghoulish Googlies Halloween treat kit in the Holiday mini catalog (pg. 27)?  Everything you need to make some cute little treats; just add a stamp set image.  And it coordinates so well with Googly Ghouls set.

I couldn't resist this kit.  It is just too cute!  I bought a couple packages for a quick and easy project at Ilion's shoebox swap last month.

One mix I used to fill the bags was Shannon West's travel mix recipe from Convention, 1 part candy corn and 1 part dry roasted peanuts.  You might think it's a little weird, but Shannon was right.  It is the perfect mix of salty and sweet.

Stamps: Googly Ghouls; Ink: Basic Black craft; Accessories: Ghoulish Googlies designer kit.

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Countdown to Christmas: Ribbon Tree

I'm one of these people who dig my feet into the ground when it comes to making Christmas cards early.  I would prefer to enjoy the current holiday of the month rather than make the Christmas season three months long.  Certainly I would become tired of Christmas if I start this early, yes?

But I can't deny this is the most popular season for which to paper craft, so I guess I must try to embrace it.  To encourage myself, I'll play along with the "Countdown to Christmas", attempting to post a Christmas-related project every week up to the big day.  And I've already missed a week (Doh!).  Anywho, drum roll please... we officially kick of the Countdown to Christmas with 11 weeks to go...

Here is a great idea for all those spare pieces of ribbon you've collected.

I've used the Holiday Collection framelits to die-cut the tree shape, and then filled the negative space with small pieces of ribbon scraps.

Layout inspiration comes from Fab Friday Challenge #3.

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper: Gumball Green, Real Red, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Snow Festival DSP, Naturals Composition Specialty DSP; Ink: Chocolate Chip; Accessories: Cherry Cobbler baker's twine, Miscellaneous spare ribbon, Perfect Polka Dot EF, Holiday Collection framelits, Bitty Banners framelits, Big Shot, Sewing machine, Thread, Dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by!