Teapotter's Surprise!!!

Oh my gosh!! It was like pulling teeth to get all these photos uploaded. I've been having connection issues. It took three days, but they're all here now. It took another week or so to catch up on all the typing!!!

Back in September, Mothermark's Teapot Tuesday Challenge was to use anything we wanted to make our cards pretty. That challenge was sort of linked to a card drive that Cammie (Carolyn King) has every year to honor Alzheimer's care givers. For our challenge cards, we could send them to the facility Cammie suggested, we could send them to someone we knew who was a care giver, or we could send them to the Arbors Memory Care facility in Sparks, Nevada, which is where I take my mom for respite care because she has Alzheimer's Dementia. Anyway, Cindy (Mothermark) collected 39 cards from the tea potters and sent them to ME because I'm a care giver!!!

This photo (above) shows the box of cards, the goodies Cindy added (package of bling, two stamps, a butterfly punch and snowflake socks) PLUS a cashier's check for over $400!!! They took up a collection to send me some money to provide some respite care!! I'll be able to take my mom to the Arbors for five days and have enough to pay for what the Alzheimer's Assn. doesn't pay out of their grant. I'm going to save it for April when my son has Spring Break. I'll even have enough left over so we can stay in a hotel for a day or so!!!

This card is the first one I opened because Cindy said "Open this first." Cindy explained what all the cards were for and about the check and extra goodies. Isn't this a masterpiece?!!! I wish you could see these cards in real life. They are all so lovely. Cindy outdid herself with this one though!!

This one is from Phyllis Long (SparklePlenty1000). She has a blog with a weekly sketch challenge. That's where I got the "Remarkables" award. She always makes such beautiful cards!! This one has glitter, pearls, punched borders and cut out and popped up flowers!! Wow!! She wrote two Bible verses inside for me to look up. What a sweet lady!!

This one is from LilLuvsStampin. Charlene always makes awesome cards. I wonder if Cindy sent her this Tea Time set for running one of the challenges while Cindy was away. It's an awesome card and had a sweet note inside!!

I knew as soon as I saw this card that it was from my friend patsmethers. She makes the most beautiful corsages on her cards! I have met Pat and spent a day in Grass Valley, CA, with her. She and another SCS Stamper will be going there next May, so I will drive up there and see them both. I've only met a couple of the tea potters in real life. That's what makes all these cards and the donation even more amazing! Most of these wonderful people have never even met me!!! Online friends really can be like family!!!

This one was made by irishgreensue. I know her name is Sue, but I like to call her Greenie! We've gotten to know each other through emails. She's the one that's coming out west in May, so I will get to meet her in person then. She did the polished stone technique on this beauty and used Dazzling Diamonds on the flowers and "Dreams". My photography just doesn't do any of these cards justice!

This one was made by Schirmcat. She made this one for me to send to whomever I wish. I wish you could see the dimension with the layers on the flower. It's really lovely!

This card is from Schirmcat, too. This little card she made for me. She had a sweet note inside and told me about the extra card for me to send. That card is shown above this one. I just love this little card! There was some fussy cutting done here with that basket and the flowers!

This one is from Mutnik. Cathy is so talented! She should start her own stamp company because she draws most of her own images!! Isn't this awesome?!!!

This is from mnfroggie. Looks like Trina is another Stampin' Up! person. That's definitely SU! paper, ribbon, stamps and border punch!! It all came together for a lovely card!!

ConnieJo9 created this awesome beauty. She stamped, colored, embossed and added bling! I love it! I'm going to CASE this one!!

#1volunteer sent this one. Mary uses SU! products, too. I wonder how many of the tea potters are demos. I have this set, so I can CASE this one, too. I love how she did the butterfly with the ribbon around it!!

Broom made this one. Hilda is so talented and so sweet. She wrote such a sweet note. Don't you just love all the fussy cutting she did on this one?!!!

Triasimite is such a cute screen name! Bev is a very talented stamper, too. I liked what she did with that border punch so much that I went and bought one for me!!! LOL! Yes, addicted to punches!! Don't you just love that bunny image, too!!!

cookiebaker is definitely one of God's children. Her note to me was kind of like a prayer; it was so touching. I love this simple layout and how she used the border punch. It looks like she used Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip; so pretty!

cmsuto made this beautiful autumn card. Carla is another very talented stamper. I love this layout and her use of the papers!! Look at those tiny buttons; they match!!

Celisa is such a kind person! She made this awesome card for me with a nice note inside. Later, when our TPT challenge was a black and white card or card base, she made a card, printed a picture of the teapot, printed out Cindy's story, bought flowers and actually went to visit the recipient in the assisted care facility!! Now, that's thoughtfulness, kindness and Godliness!!!

This one is from Garden Diva. Tina did such a beautiful job coloring and adding glitter to this pretty tea cup. My friends even commented on how beautiful this card is!

wannabcre8ive is one of my best friends online. Shirley is the leader of the Twisted Sistahs. We call her the bus driver. I should have known that she would be involved in this and make such and awesome card for me!

Clyndago made this one. Lynda used a card base that has writing around the edges. It says, "Life is a bowl of cherries, Live Laugh Love." I love all the distressing and the great embellishments. It's kind of patriotic, vintage and girly all rolled into one awesome card!

hskelly made this lovely card. Harriet even matched the little pearls to the ribbon!! How did she know that, after lavender roses, my favorite flower is the sunflower!! Great layout, too!!

tracim made this one. Traci used SU! products for her card, too. Here's another case where I have the stamp set but never came up with anything so nice as this to do with it!!

101Airborne is the one who made this beauty. Kathy even typed up a letter telling me how they all came to making cards for me and that she's keeping my mom and me in her prayers. What a sweetheart! This card can be masculine OR feminine; I like that!!!

Catgondek made this card in yellow hues. How cheerful! I like the way she used that punch without going from end to end. That's kind of neat!! She wants me to reuse this card, but I don't know if I can part with it!!

Lisa Lara sent me this cute Halloween card. Oh, those jack-o-lanterns are so funny! She put them on the envelope too! Simple but effective, and I just love it!!

Cammie made this one. Carolyn King is her name, and she really started this whole thing. She has a blog and does an annual card drive for Alzheimer's care givers. She was featured in two paper craft magazines this year! She does the card drive because her grandmother had Alzheimer's and really appreciates what the care givers have to do. She gave an address of a facility in Pennsylvania where people could send cards and suggested that you send cards to other care givers as well. Cindy posted the address where I take my mom for respite care, but I didn't expect all the tea partiers to send ME cards too!!!

Here's another one with SU! products. It's from pidgesmom. I like how Lorraine stamped, colored and embossed the main image. She also used three different SU! ribbons on this!

Isn't this just gorgeous?!!! flowergal36 made it. Dawn used some shiny textured card stock for the base and machine stitched the green layer! I love the big image and how beautifully she colored it. She did more stitching on the panel beneath the main image panel. Gosh, this is beautiful!!

Maxell made this one in blues. Bev and I must have started on SCS around the same time I think. She does such beautiful work. She sent a sweet note and she mentioned that her brother-in-law has Alzheimer's Dementia, too.

Vickydee made this cheerful card. It looks like Vicki did some clear embossing. You can't see it, but those flowers and even the polka dots are shiny. Her father just passed away in August. He had Parkenson's Disease as well as Alzheimer's.

APandi made this one in pink, ivory and browns. It looks so delicate. Marilynn did some fussy cutting on that flower and the birdie as well as the pretty butterfly! I love all the SPARKLE!!!

Francie G made this big square card. Fran used clear embossing on those flowers. They shine so pretty! I love the paper under the popped up panel, too. There's lots of texture and dimension here!!

jojot made this beautiful Asian card. It looks like Joanne embossed a metal sheet for this one. I have the silhouette stamp, but I don't have that bamboo. This card is just gorgeous in real life! I love Asian cards!!!

cook22 made this one. Sabrina is in Ireland!!! Yes, this one came from a long ways away!!! It looks like the flourish is actually made of wood and she put glitter all around the edges of the flower petals. It's a beauty for sure and it came from so far away!!

I Love Rubber is the screen name of the lady who made this beautiful card. Elizabeth included and lovely letter telling me about her grandmother when she was alive and living in an assisted care facility. Her mother is 86 now, and she plans on having her move in with her when that time comes. The background is embossed in silver and there's lots of glitter and bling here.

philsmom made this flower pot slider card. I've made these too, but mine never turned out a beautiful as this!! Fran used lots more flowers, and the centers of each one is a rhinestone brad. There's even a pretty dragonfly on this!!

Foxy67 sent me this adorable Halloween card. Pat made that pumpkin look pretty artsy!! I love the color combo on this one, too. In Pat's note, she mentioned that she just lost a friend to cancer and was with her every day at the end. She knows how stressful a care giver's life can be.

knurse sent this tropical delight. Who would have thought that embossed black textured card stock could look so awesome?!! Sheri did!! I love those colorful flowers!! Sheri also included a sweet note.

Yo Sam sent this one. Shelly is another talented stamper. I wish I knew where she got that cute snail image!! It's so adorable, and her coloring is just awesome!! I like the background paper too!!This card from Joan Ervin came after all the others. It seems it got lost in the shuffle somehow. After seeing all the other cards posted to my 'RAKs from Teapotters" Album on SCS, she contacted Cindy (Mothermark) about it. Cindy found it and got it into the mail right away. It included an envelope with cash too!!! I love the crocheted flower with the button center and that beautiful paper! Everything is so well coordinated!

Well, it took me from October 26th to November 6th to complete this post!!! I do so appreciate all 39 of the cards, all the notes and letters, the money everyone chipped in for payment of respite care, but most of all, I appreciate all the love and kindness from my online friends, most of whom I've never met in person!!!

Speedy Recovery (MMTPT117)

This is for Mothermark's Teapot Tuesday Challenge which had a NASCAR theme. I think that the yellow and blue colors are going to be Dale Earnhardt Jr's colors in 2011. It looks like he's going to be using his father's number "3" as well. I die cut the number using a Sizzix alphabet set, drew my own checkered flag, downloaded a race car coloring page, colored the car with water color pencils, heat embossed with clear embossing powder and then popped it up, and I punched the gears out with an SU! punch. The sentiment on the banner was handwritten. Thanks for stopping by!!

Checks n' Chicken (CAS90)

Today's Clean and Simple Challenge was called "Gingham and Checks", so I used this checkered paper that was sent to me by my friend Sue (aka Coffeestamper). She also sent me the stamped chicken and sentiment. I think they are from a retired Stampin' Up set, too. The base card is So Saffron, and all I had to do was color the beak and feet with a Pumpkin Pie Marker and then cut it out. Easy Peasy!! Thanks for stopping by!

CASEing Lynette (FS194, CCEE1042)

Yesterday, I spent most of the day putting together a package for a friend of mine in Washington. She used to be in my club and come to all of my stamp camps. She even came over many times and helped me cut out everything for my events. She misses making cards with us and she wanted me to send her some "kits" to make our Stamp Camp or club cards. I sent her everything she needs to make four of the last Stamp Camp cards plus one of the projects we'll be doing for the next club. I hope she likes it!

Today, I'm back at it. This card is for the Featured Stamper Challenge. Our Featured Stamper this week is LinniePoo. Lynette has a clean style which I like. I chose to CASE her "Simple Thank You" card. I changed the stamps, colors and didn't punch or score; instead, I used a ruffled ribbon I got from patsmethers just in time for the CCEE Stampers Challenge which was to use ruffles on our cards. My stamps are from Happiness Shared and Watercolor Trio. Everything here, except the ribbon, is from Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!!

Happiness Shared (SC303)

This is my Sketch Challenge card. It looks like I'm going to be two days late with everything except for the Twisted Sistahs challenge. Maybe I'll do the CCEE Stampers challenge tomorrow along with the Queen for the Day. Then I'll be pretty much caught up with the challenges that I do. Of course, there are MANY others. I was looking through my stack of "My Mind's Eye" designer papers and decided to use a sheet on my sketch card. This is the first time I've used the "Happiness Shared" set. I love it! It's in the current Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog. The sentiment came from the "Water Color Trio" set. I colored the flower with Water Color Pencils and blended with baby oil on a Blender Pen. I also sponged the image panel and sentiment panel with Close To Cocoa (retired). I just added the Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon, and there you go! Thanks for stopping by! I hope to be up to getting creative and posting cards tomorrow. I have two Stamp Camps today plus my back is in spasms. I'm better than yesterday though!

Nemo Founs (MMTPT116)

This is for Mothermark's Teapot Tuesday Challenge. You should go here and read the whole story. The tea potters were to bring all the Disney characters to the tea party this week. It seems the Donald Duck was acting more like Donald Trump and fired everyone. We need to get them all back to Disney World. We actually went to Disney World during the summer and I planned on scrap booking quite a bit. I bought this Cut & Emboss Nemo for my scrap book pages. It came in handy for this challenge.

I'm suffering from muscle spasms in my back, so I haven't been able to do much. This card should have been uploaded on Tuesday. Well, it's here now. I'll try to get to yesterday's sketch if I feel better later. Thanks for stopping by.

Fall Colors (TSC1022)

This is for this week's Twisted Sistah's Challenge which was presented by Marleygo. I'm very early because I will be away a lot the next couple of days and I have Stamp Camp on Friday. Lesley challenged us to use fall colors on a card. I saw these sunflowers on Kim Score's blog. They were on a jar or candle jar. She used a stamp for the faces, but I just drew mine. I felt that the sunflowers were perfect for my fall themed card. The DSP is Autumn Vines (retired). The flowers were made with the five petal punch and 1" circle punch and the Bird & Branch Punch (wing) for the leaves. I also used a Martha Stewart Flower Border Punch which is the only non-Stampin' Up! item used here. Thanks for stopping by!!

2010 October Stamp Camp

The first of our five projects is this card with what I call a Modern Santa. I saw it on SCS. Someone did a card for an Inspiration Challenge and her inspiration was a black tray with this type of Santa on it. I wish I could remember who it was that made that card. Anyway, it's just a red triangle with strips for the bottom, face and hat band. The Ornament and Curly Label punches were used to make the beard. The Spiral Punch was used for the feet and the Punch Pack flower was used for the top of the hat. I also used the "Merry" Embosslit for the sentiment panel and "Teeny Tiny Wishes" for the stamped "Christmas". I used the Northern Flurry EF for the background. It's a fun little card.

ETA: I found it!! Kim Score highlighted it on her blog today!!! The card is by gregzgurl.

Project #2 is simple, yet effective. The "Christ is Born" was embossed with Silver Embossing Powder, the flower was stamped with Riding Hood Red and cut out, and the sentiment panel is a banner of sorts. It's sponged with Crushed Concord and pearls were added to the flower center.

Project #3 is a re-do of my card I did last weekend. See this post. I changed the papers and the layout a bit. I like it better with these colors, too.

Project #4 is the same as the card I did for last week's sketch. I made bows for everyone to just attach with glue dots though. See this post for more details.

Project #5 is actually going to be with a darker color for the embossed layer. When I made my samples, I just used whatever scraps I had lying around. The Santa was stamped twice, colored once and cut out. It was popped up on the other stamped image and the snowballs have Dazzling Diamonds. Everything used on these cards came from Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!!!

Punch Art Acorn

Here I am, just fooling around again! I subscribe to Kim Score's blog and she puts links on her blog each day to cool punch art. She even had one of mine on there! Anyway, she had a link a few days ago to Frenchie Stamps blog. That's where I got the instructions (video tutorial) to make this cute acorn. He's really easy to make just by using the ornament punch and the small and large oval punches. All the leaves are from "French Foliage"; the bigger ones look like oak, so I stamped them, cut them out and sponged them. I also crinkled them up some. I just thought this little acorn was so cute that I just had to try it!! Everything is from Stampin' Up! Thanks again for stopping by!!

Christmas Flowers (CAS89)

The Clean & Simple Challenge was to use this sketch by kstamper as our inspiration. What a cute sketch and cute card with those Christmas lights! I used "Season of Joy" and used three stamps from the set: sentiment, small flower and large flower. The large flower was stamped with Cherry Cobbler on Whisper White, cut out and popped up. Pearls were added to the flower center. This sure makes a great quickie card! I made mine square for the Late Night Stampers challenge (a Yahoo Group). Everything here is from Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!!

CASEing Darleen (SC299)

I'm just playing around now. I want to make a card similar to this for my next Stamp Camp. This is a CASE of darleenstamps' sketch challenge card, "Christmas Cardinal". I loved the cardinal but didn't know how she did the black part. She had so many requests for instructions that she made a quick tutorial for the birdie. All you need is Stampin' Up!'s Bird & Branch Punch to make it. When I do make the card for Stamp Camp, it will be different colors and papers, but will have the same sentiment and, of course, the cardinal. Thanks again for stopping by!!

CASEing Crystal (QFTD31, C4C59)

This is for two challenges: The Crazy 4 Challenges challenge to use fall colors and make a fall card or project and the Queen For The Day challenge honoring crystalkbk. Crystal does a lot of stitching on her cards. I don't; you can see why! LOL! Anyway, I chose to CASE her card from "A Fall Set" which she just made today. For the large leaves, I stamped leaves from "French Foliage", cut them out, sponged them and crinkled them before attaching them to the card. The pumpkin leaf is from "Autumn Harvest" and the sentiment is from "Teeny Tiny Wishes". I used different papers and I made the circle out of Pear Pizazz sponged with Old Olive instead of using white. I just love her card, and I think mine turned out OK in spite of my awful stitching. Everything here is from Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!!

From Russia with Love (TSC1015)

This is for this week's Twisted Sistahs Challenge which was presented by Tater. Phyllis asked us to make a card that was representative of our heritage. I chose to go with my mother's side which is Russian. I never had a set of these Matryoshka dolls, but some other members of my family did, and I remember playing with them as a child. The textured background represents the pot holders my grandmother used to crochet for Christmas gifts. She also made lots of doilies. I have some of those. She tried to teach me to crochet when I was young, but she went too fast for me. I did learn how later, though. The white, blue and red strips are representative of the Russian flag (current). This one was adopted in 1993 after several flag changes over the years. It was originally adopted in 1868. My mother still speaks a little Russian, mostly prayers and blessings though. My mother is 95 and the last of her generation. Everything used to make this card is from Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!!

The Hunk (CCEE1041, WT292)

I'm afraid I'm not very creative today, but this is for the CCEE Stampers Challenge to use wood grain, either a stamp or patterned paper. My wood grain is SU! Autumn Meadows DSP (retired). My friend, Pat Smethers, sent me some stamped images of this cowboy from the retired Wild Wild West set. I love the paper she stamped him on. All I had to do was use a Labels Nestie to die cut the image, sponge it and pop it up on dimensionals. The Ways To Use It Challenge was to use embellishments in different ways. I used the brads as nails. I know, that is not too creative, but that's all I got. I will add a sentiment beneath the cowboy when I decide how I'm going to use this card. Everything here is from Stampin' Up! except for the Nestie. Thanks for stopping by!

Good-bye Minnie

I took my dog, Minnie Mutt, to the vet today. She was over 16 years old. The vet said that she was almost totally blind, partially deaf, suffered from arthritis in the spine, both of her knee caps on her hind legs were dislocated, she probably had kidney problems and possibly diabetes. Giving her medicines for all her conditions would not give her quality of life, and she might not last even a month or so. She lost weight recently, couldn't eat much, vomited often, and was incontinent. She could no longer get up on my bed or even the couch. She went into my closet if I wasn't in my Craft Room and slept most of the day. She slept with me last night because I put her on my bed. Minnie had to be put to sleep at about 4:30 p.m. this afternoon. She was a faithful friend, and I already miss her terribly. She was a member of our family. I'm so sad. If I don't have the desire to get creative for a couple of days, I know you all will understand.

Candy Cane Christmas (SC302)

This is for today's sketch challenge on SCS. The Candy Cane Christmas DSP is what determined the rest of the colors. The base card is Real Red with a layer of Blushing Bride that was embossed with a Sizzix Texturz Plate. Each panel is thinly matted with Real Red. The main image from "Greeting Card Kids" was colored with markers. I also used Crystal Snow and Silver Stickles on her, but you can't see that in this photo. It was finished off with red sheer ribbon. Thanks for stopping by!!

Batty Bats in the Pumpkin Patch (MMTPT115)

This is for that challenge where you just have to read the whole story to understand what's going on. Here's the post on SCS. At first, my mummy was trying to shoo those batty bats away from the pumpkin patch, but then she realized that they were just there to eat buggy bugs, and that's a good thing (to quote Martha).

The base card is More Mustard with a layer of Autumn Vines DSP (retired). The pumpkins were made with the Small and Large Oval Punches. The vines were die cut using the Scribbles Swirls Sizzlit. The leaves and bats were punched using Martha Stewart punches. The mummy was stamped on white, cut out and popped up. Everything was sponged. The sentiment, from "Teeny Tiny Wishes" was stamped with Pumpkin Pie on Whisper White, punched with the Word Window Punch and matted on Pumpkin Pie. A brad was added and the panel was popped up. Thanks for stopping by!!!

HOPE (HYCCT09)

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, SCS is having a challenge a day all month and a card drive for breast cancer patients. The challenges are called "Hope You Can Cling To", and this one is for day 9, hosted by Cindy Motherway aka mothermark. Her challenge is called "Dabble in Scrabble" and we were to make a square card with at least 4 squares on the front. My "tiles" spell out H-O-P-E which is what we want to give each breast cancer patient. This card is 5-3/8" square (to fit into SU!'s square envelope). I found a tutorial for the "Funky Fold" card on this blog.

This is a photo of the inside of the card. The instructions start with a 6" X 12" piece of card stock, but I don't have envelopes for that size card, so I adjusted it down to 5-3/8" X 10-3/4". There are 15 embossed flowers on this card with tiny "Basic Pearls" in the centers. I've never made a card that took me this long! LOL!! Everything used to make this card is from Stampin' Up! except for the hearts border punch on the inside. Thanks for stopping by!!

Non-Traditional Christmas (TSC1008, CCEE1040)

This week was Peggy's turn to present the Twisted Sistah's Challenge, but she couldn't find her way to the bus, so Shirley gave us a challenge to make a Christmas card with non-traditional colors. Just as soon as Shirley (wannabcre8ive) presented the challenge for Peggy, Lesley posted an email she had received from Peggy in which Peggy challenged us to use plaid, paper piecing and a flower. We're a bit confused on that bus sometimes! Well, Shirley is the bus driver, so she told us to use EITHER of those challenges. I did both! LOL! My card IS a Christmas card with non-traditional colors (Pink Pirouette and Pear Pizazz) AND I used plaid, paper pieced the coat and hat and I made a flower. I think this is eligible for the CCEE Stampers Challenge as well because that one is to use a flower that we made. I think my flower counts as home-made. The sentiment is from Sincere Salutations and the DSP is Pawsitively Prints.

This is a close-up so you can see the paper piecing on the coat and hat and the Dazzling Diamonds on her hat, coat and scarf. Thanks for stopping by!!

ETA: Lori Jane, I changed the text to RED where I mentioned the colors of the card stock. Thanks for your kind comment! If you have more questions, please don't hesitate to ask or email me: davis4him517@sbcglobal.net.

2010 Oct. Club Projects

Project #1 for this month's club was already posted here. I'm going to go ahead and cut enough card stock to allow my ladies to have their choice of colors. That way, some will color with purples, some with yellows and some with the pinks. We won't have to wait on the markers that way.
The card shown above is Project #2. I try to make one feminine and one masculine card for my clubs. I stamped the image from "Countryside" with Timber Brown Stazon (retired), then I colored only the apples. I sponged the panel (Very Vanilla) with Early Espresso. The base card and matting are Early Espresso, too. The embossed Vanilla panel was embossed with SU!'s Square Lattice folder. The DSP is Autumn Meadows (retired). The envelope is ivory with a couple of apples stamped in the lower left corner. There's also an apple stamped on the inside as well as a sentiment from "Teeny Tiny Wishes". Thanks for stopping by!! I better get back to cutting card stock!!!!

Kindness (SC301)

I really like this week's sketch on SCS. It's great for those larger images. This is also for a challenge from my Yahoo Group (StampinUpLateNightStampers) which was to use In-Colors. I used Blushing Bride, Pear Pizazz and Poppy Parade along with Whisper White. The DSP is the In-Color Patterns Pack (Hostess), and I used both sides of one sheet. The main image, from "The Nicest Things", was stamped with Stazon and colored with In-Color Markers plus Blush Blossom for the skin tone and Daffodil Delight for the blonde hair. The sentiment is from "Heard from the Heart". The inside has a strip of the striped DSP at the bottom stamped with the little flowers and colored with Poppy Parade. Everything used here is from Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!!!

Just Chicken (CC291, MMTPT114)

This is for the Color Challenge on SCS which is to use Rich Razzleberry, Tangerine Tango and So Saffron with any neutral. The dessert option was to use White, either gel pen or embossing. I used the gel pen to make the dots on the Tangerine mats. I have a couple of friends over today to stamp together, and one of the ladies has a 6" X 6" pack of DP. She gave me the paper I used here because it went well with the Razzleberry and Saffron. I got the chicken image, background and sentiment from my friend and fellow Twisted Sistah, coffeestamper, a.k.a. Perk, etc. Also, the Teapot Tuesday Challenge had to do with computers. I figured computers have wires and behind the chicken is plenty of wires; chicken wire that is!!! Thanks for stopping by!!

Pearly Flakes (CAS87)

The Clean & Simple Challenge for this week is a technique challenge. Jen directed us here to see a tutorial on inking a Cuttlebug embossing folder (EF). I chose the new "Northern Flurry" folder from Stampin' Up! I doesn't cover the entire card front; it leaves room for a sentiment or other stamping. I messed up when I was inking mine, so I sponged it a bit to look like sky. This is actually debossed. The ink ends up in the holes. I used Marina Mist card stock and ink and Naturals White for the embossed piece. I also used SU!'s new Jewels - Basic Pearls on the snowflakes. The sentiment is from "Four the Holidays". Everything used to create this card is from Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!!

Coming Soon! (FS191)

I told you! Here's my card for the Featured Stamper Challenge. The featured stamper this week is Alimarbles. Alison's gallery was fun to browse. I chose this card to CASE. I changed the stamp, used embossed card stock instead of patterned paper and eliminated the sentiment. Now, you might ask, "What is coming soon?" The rain, of course!! LOL! Thanks for stopping by again.

Happy Fall! (C4C57)

I'm back! We got back yesterday evening, but I was too tired to do much of anything. A group of ladies from my church went to the Joyce Meyer Conference which was Thursday night, two sessions on Friday and one session on Saturday morning. It was great!

I can't get into the galleries on SCS because the site is shut down for maintenance, so I couldn't do the Featured Stamper Challenge....YET! This is for the Crazy 4 Challenges challenge which is a color challenge. We are to use Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi, So Saffron, Kraft (Crumb Cake) and Black. Perfect colors for fall! I did use a non-SU! stamp and a Martha Stewart Leaf Punch, but everything else is from Stampin' Up! I used the Small and Large Oval Punches for the pumpkins and the Swirls Sizzlit for the vines. Thanks for stopping by!!

A Bit Green (TSC1001)

I'm early for the Twisted Sistah's Challenge because I'm going out of town for a couple of days, so I won't be around tomorrow. Our sistah, coffeestamper, challenged us to make a funny card and use a punch. Well, I think this punch art doggie is pretty funny and, of course, he's made entirely from punched pieces. The sentiment, "Heard you were sick as a dog" is from "Wellness Wishes". The bottom panel is a paint chip, and the top is retired DSP. For instructions for making this pooch, go to Kim Score's Blog. I have to go pack! Thanks for stopping by!!

Thanks in Purples (MMTPT113, SC300)

I did this for today's Sketch Challenge and combined it with yesterday's Teapot Tuesday Challenge. I now have 15 cards for the Alzheimer's care givers. I used Naturals White for the base card, Whisper White for the main panel and flowers, Concord Crush for the matting and In-Color Patterns Pack DSP (hostess). The flowers are from "Fast and Fabulous" (hostess) and the sentiment is from "Water Color Trio". Instead of doing the 2-step stamping on the flowers, I just stamped them with Stazon and colored with Stampin' Up! Markers. All products used to make this card are from Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!

One more flower (MMTPT113)

This is for Mothermark's Teapot Tuesday Challenge. You need to go here to find out all about this challenge. Our mission is to bring all kinds of goodies to add to Summer's stash so she can win a tu-tu. Now, she's probably getting 42,000 flowers already, but this one little flower comes special delivery by Howie Hedgie. This challenge is really special to me because the cards will be going to Alzheimer's care givers. Some will even go to the facility where I take my mom for respite care. I want them to get enough cards to give one to each care giver at the facility. I made this one very simple because I thought they need to have a few cards for the men who work there. If you'd like to make a card for this cause, you can send it to:

Arbors Memory Care
2121 East Prater Way
Sparks, NV 89434

I'm taking my mother there tomorrow for five days while I go to Sacramento to see Joyce Meyers on Thursday and Friday. Cards can be frilly or clean and simple. I used yesterday's CAS sketch for this one. Don't forget, there's always a few men working in these facilities. Thanks for stopping by!!!

ETA: If you do make a card to send to a care giver, please go to Cammie's Blog and link to your card so that you can enter to win some WONDERFUL Blog Candy!!!

All Pink (CAS86, TLC292)

I combined the Clean & Simple Challenge which was to be inspired by cookiebaker's sketch and the Technique Lover's Challenge which was to stamp on tissue paper. Joan Ervin even gave us a tutorial on how to stamp on the tissue paper! I used pink tissue paper from a gift bag. I spritzed with water and dried with my heat tool. THEN, I read her instructions! LOL! I spritzed again with Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz and dried it again. I laid it on white card stock and stamped the Upsy Daisy image and then cut it out. Wherever the edges lifted, I put 2-way glue pen glue. The horizontal strip was punched with the new dotted scallop border punch, and I used a Soft Subtles Button with Linen Thread as my embellishment. The main image was popped up on Dimensionals. All products used to make this card are from Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!!

CASEing Sallie (FS190)

I didn't get creative yesterday. I just didn't feel well. I'm better today though, so I did a card for the Featured Stamper challenge. This week's Featured Stamper is hobbydujour. Sallie is such a talented stamper, and I've admired her work for a while now. I chose to CASE her "Autumn Pumpkin" card. When I first commented on her card, I said it was unusual to see the flower on the vine with the pumpkin. She sent me a private message through SCS explaining that it was artistic liberty. I liked that the flowers were there though, even though you might not see that in real life. Anyway, we sent a couple of messages back and forth about that, so I just had to CASE that card. The main change I made was using a punch art pumpkin instead of a stamped image. I used a die cut "vine" and stamped and cut-out leaves. I also used raffia instead of linen thread and eliminated the button. Everything used to make this card is from Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!!!

Heavy Metal Get Well card (CCEE1038, TSC0924)

I was able to combine two challenges here. The Twisted Sistahs challenge was presented by Shirley (wannabcre8ive). She challenged us to use metal on our cards. The metal here is the charm. The CCEE Stampers challenge was to make a Get Well card. This is a Get Well card for a friend who is in the hospital last I heard. I used retired Sage Shadow card stock, Dusty Durango ribbon and the Autumn Vine DSP. I used the Little Leaves Sizzlet and the Bird & Branch Punch for the two sizes of leaves. I made my usual embossed flowers out of More Mustard card stock. Other than the gold pearls, charm and Nesties, everything used to make this card is from Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!!

Merry Christmas (SC299)

Here's the card I made for today's sketch. It's all about the paper! The DSP is from the Holiday Mini and is called Deck the Halls. The card stocks are Crumb Cake (formerly Kraft), Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla and Cherry Cobbler for the flower. The sentiment is from "Four the Holidays". Everything used to make this card is from Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!

2010 September Stamp Camp Projects

Well, I didn't get to any challenges today. I usually like to do Mothermark's Teapot Tuesday Challenge or the Color Challenge on SCS. Sometimes, I'm able to combine those two challenges. Anyway, I worked on my Stamp Camp Projects instead. Project #1 has this little punch art penguin made with Stampin' Up!'s Owl Punch. The white panel is embossed with the new Northern Flurry Impressions Folder. The sentiment is from "Four the Holidays" which I think was in last year's Holiday Mini. It's in the new Idea Book & Catalog (IBC), too. I used Stampin' Up! Blue Gingham Ribbon (retired) and a Bashful Blue base card.

Project #2 features the "Jolly Old St. Nick" stamp set from the current Holiday Mini. I also used Candy Cane Christmas DSP for the vertical panel. I just used SU! Markers to color Santa, and, it's hard to see, but I used Dazzling Diamonds on his hat. The base card is Garden Green.

Project #3 features the "Come to Bethlehem" set. We will have to do some fussy cutting on this one. The design was inspired by the card in the IBC. I used Concord Crush, Whisper White and Old Olive card stocks. This one is a little bit artsy for me, but I think my Stamp Campers will like it (except for all the cutting).

I'm afraid I couldn't get a very good photo of Project #4. You can barely see the angel. She's from "Angelic Joy" which is in the current Holiday Mini. I also used "Deck the Halls" DSP. The card stocks are Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla and Sage Shadow (retired). The angel was stamped on Very Vanilla with Encore Gold and embossed with Clear Embossing Powder. She was lightly water colored (hair, face and sash). I used Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon. This design was inspired by the one in the Mini Catalog.

Project #5 is actually the card I made for the Featured Stamper Challenge on Sunday. You can look at that post below for the details. All products used on these projects came from Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!!!

Autumn Tag (TLC291)

Today's Technique Lover's Challenge was simply to make a tag. The large pumpkin was embossed with Black Embossing Powder, and the other one and leaves were embossed with Clear EP after inking up with Versamark and then Chocolate Chip ink. After embossing, they were water colored and then cut out and popped up on the scrap of DSP which was matted on a scrap of Kiwi Kiss and then added to the tag. I used the Word Window Punch for the embellishment along with a brad. I also used an eyelet and Hemp Twine to finish it off. Everything used to make this tag was from Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!

• Stamps: Autumn Harvest
• Ink: Versamark, Chocolate Chip
• Papers: Pumpkin Pie, Kiwi Kiss, Very Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie DSP
• Accessories: Black EP, Clear EP, Heat Tool, Snips, Dimensionals, Word Window Punch, Brad, Eyelet, Corner Punch, Hemp Twine

CASEing Kristen (FS189)

I had a yard sale yesterday, and when I got all done and everything was put away, I was just too exhausted to get creative. I'm pretty sore today, so I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to work on my cards for my Stamp Camp on Friday AND I'm going to clean up my Craft Room! That should keep me out of trouble!

On to the card. The Featured Stamper this week is Kristen (eberlinek). I was not familiar with her gallery until today. She does a lot of cards that she sends for certain special causes. What a kind and sweet person! Anyway, I chose to CASE this card. The changes I made are: A2 size instead of square, embossed the white panel, changed colors and stamp, no sentiment, bling instead of brads on photo corners, no embellies on main panel, different ribbon, cut out and popped up main image, and added Dazzling Diamonds to bottom of snowman and snow balls. Everything except the DP and bling came from Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!

• Stamps: Jolliest Time of the Year
• Papers: Pacific Point, Whisper White, DCWV DP
• Ink: Black Stazon, Pacific Point and Basic Black Markers
• Accessories: Big Shot, Northern Flurry EF, Photo corner Punch, Snips, Pacific Point Ribbon, Dimensionals, Dazzling Diamonds, 2-Way Glue Pen, Rhinestones

Recycling (TSC0917)

The Twisted Sistahs Challenge for this week was presented by PatSmethers. Wow! This one was a tough one for me! We had to use some kind of label or clothing tag on our cards. First, I pulled the label off of a can of spaghetti sauce. I thought I might punch a couple of flowers out of the picture of the red sauce and use the parley in the photo for leaves. Nope. Next, I pulled the label off of a bottle of water. It said, "Pure Life", so I thought I might use that for a sentiment. Nope. Next, I pulled the label off of a can of tuna. The letters T-U-N-A were big on this brand, so I thought I'd cut them apart, switch them around (backwards) and spell "A NUT", and I was going to put "U R" above that with Pat Smethers above THAT!! LOL! Nope. I just didn't know what to do. I took my mom to the Senior Center for lunch. After we parked, I opened the truck to get her walker out. There, in the trunk, was an insulated bag I had purchased at Trader Joe's so that I could keep cold foods cold during the 40 mile trip from Reno. The bag had this tag on it still. My daughter in California shops there a lot because she's always looking for gluten free stuff for my grand daughter. Yep, I used that tag, most of it at least. I cut it down to size, matted it on Basic Black and added the sentiment from "Teeny Tiny Wishes" over the store sign. I also stamped palm trees from "Plant Hope" for a background at the bottom. I think I'll send this to my daughter! LOL! Everything except the tag is from Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!!

Flat card (SC298)

This is for this week's Sketch Challenge on SCS. The only thing matted is the sentiment panel, there's no embossing, and there's no embellishments or ribbons. I wanted this to be a flat card for easy mailing. I think $.44 is enough to spend to send a Christmas card! I used "Bells & Boughs" for the main image and "Angelic Joy" for the sentiment. The base card is Cherry Cobbler and the DSP is "Deck the Halls". Check out the Holiday Mini for the stamp sets and the DSP. Everything here is from Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!!

Trick or Treat!

Would you like to know what I did today? Well, besides getting my nails done, as well as my mother's, and stopping at the store to get salad and making a spaghetti dinner, I made about 125 of these treat bags! Some have pumpkins from "Got Treats?" and some have the sentiment from "Grateful Greetings" (with the punched bats). All the toppers are made from Stampin' Up DSP. I used a 1-3/8" square punch to punch out the pumpkins and sentiments and a bat punch I already had for the bats (Stampin' Up!'s Punch makes a bigger bat). The candies came from CostCo and are in Stampin' Up!'s 3 X 5 cello bags.

On the backs of all the toppers are my labels with the Stampin' Up! logo, my name, address, and my phone numbers. There's several reasons for the stickers. First, I wanted to hide the staple I used to attach the toppers so that no little ones could get poked. Secondly, I want the parents to know where the candy came from so that they would not worry if it was tampered with. Finally, it's advertising! I want people to know that I'm a Stampin' Up! Demo and we should talk about workshops, classes and clubs! Anyway, I think I'm ready for Halloween now. I also have my stickers on about 25 bottles of bubbles for preschoolers. They really don't need all that candy!! Thanks for stopping by!! Oh, all products used to make these treats are from Stampin' Up! except for the candy and the bat punch.

Calling All Dogs (MMTPT111)

This is for Mothermark's Teapot Tuesday Challenge. The whole story can be found here. We were to bring dogs to this tea party. We get extra points for bringing more trees and hydrants, too. You really need to click on the link to understand the story behind THAT! LOL! If you would like instructions for the Punch Art Hydrant, go to Kim Score's blog. The poodle is from Recollections Clear Stamp Set - Woof Woof. I got that set for $4 at Michael's, so I just couldn't pass it up. I used Stampin' Up!'s "Neighborhood" Jumbo Wheel for the houses and EK Success' Tree Border Punch. Thanks for stopping by!!