Silver Snowflakes

Warning:   long post!
Hello everyone!  I sure have missed crafting and blogging this past week.   My holiday weekend was full, and I spent all day yesterday after church up in my attic, cleaning and tossing.  A dirty job, but I had to do it.  I couldn't even reach my Christmas decoration boxes.  That's how out-of-control things had gotten. 

Today I got to meet one of my online blogging friends, Andrea Ewen.  She and I both live in New Jersey, and we agreed to meet for lunch and shopping at -- where else?  -- craft stores.  We found out we have a lot more in common than just card-making.  She's so wonderful to talk to!  Can't wait to have another lunch date with her.  :)

Onto my card.

This card is my submission for Round 3 of the Clean and Simple Design Team Search at Splitcoast.  I'm so happy to have made it this far!  This is the final round, and winners will be chosen this coming Friday, 12/3.  My competitors are amazingly talented.  It must be very difficult to make the decision!

About the card:  I embossed a pearly, shimmery piece of designer paper (that I bought today with Andrea) using my new Northern Flurry embossing folder from Stampin' Up!
Using a Spellbinders die, I cut a circle from the same shimmery paper, then used the Tight Mat Tutorial by Becca Feeken to make a circle out of plain white cardstock.  I adhered a beautiful, silver snowflake sticker by Jolee's Boutique (another purchase from today) onto my circles.   The satin ribbons and silver cording are scraps. 

I'm entering this card at Mark's Finest Papers challenge #31 - have a bow on your card; Stampin' B - make a holiday card; Alphabet Challenge Blog - E is for Embossing; Flourishes' Bring Back Beautiful #4 - use ribbon; and Really Reasonable Ribbons blog - Christmas card with ribbon.

The above photo shows the shimmery paper best, I think.

One more bit of news today:
The following card helped me win last week at  The Play Date Cafe, where I earned a 'Cream In Our Coffee' badge.   
 To be honest with you, I wasn't all that crazy about this card.  I can't believe it won.  You never know, right?

And at EtsyInspired, this card earned me the Shop Prize!

Okay, I am done rambling.  Thanks for hanging in there!

Happy Stamping,

Colleen

Paper:  white by PTI; shimmery cardstock 'Winter Blues Snowflake' by ANW Crestwood
Other:  Big Shot, Northern Flurry ef by SU, satin ribbon and silver cord scraps, dimensionals, silver snowflake stickers by Jolee's Boutique, circle nesties by Spellbinders

Simple Thanksgiving

Just a quick post to share with you a simple Thanksgiving card I made today.  I'm bringing it to my in-laws house tomorrow.  We will have a scrumptious dinner there, and I will be grateful for every morsel of the gourmet food they cook.

The cornucopia stamp is from an older, retired SU set called Thankful Season.  I made 6 of these cards, and boy did it take a while to color in all of those foods!  That's what took the longest.  The rest of the card came together quite easily.

I thought the Square Lattice embossing folder gave the card a sort of woven tablecloth look.  Since this Spellbinder Label is so large, I kept the layout rather simple.

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, for those who live in the U.S.  And I want to tell ALL of you how grateful I am for your friendship, support and comments.  I have a lot of fun blogging, and it's nice to have an audience!  Bless you all.

Happy Stamping,

Colleen

Stamps:  Thankful Season, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper:  Close to Cocoa, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Chocolate Chip
Punch:  modern label
Other:  Big Shot, Square Lattice embossing folder, dimensionals, chocolate pearls by Queen and Co., Copic markers, oval and labels ten Spellbinders nesties

Sparkling Ornaments & Pumpkin Bread

Happy news:  I made it to Round 2 of the Splitcoast Clean and Simple Design Team Challenge!  There are three challenges altogether, so if I make the cut this week, I go on to Round 3 soon.

Round 2 challenge dictates that the card be, of course, clean and simple, but also mention a relative.  This is my card for submission:

I heat-embossed the ornaments from Tree Trimmings (SU) with black embossing powder on scraps of a retired SU designer specialty paper that has something to do with a wedding (can't recall the name).  It's shiny, white, and has scrolls on it. 

For the sentiment panel, I used a designer label punch and black striped paper scraps from that same wedding pack mentioned above.  A small oval punch with the word "mother" on it came from the white scroll-y paper, too. 

I have very few stamps with a relative's title on it, so I decided that this can be my mom's Christmas card.  She adores black and white.

I am entering this at the Really Reasonable Ribbon challenge, as well, where the theme is Christmas with a ribbon.

This is the card I originally made for submission, but changed my mind.  I felt it was not CAS enough for the challenge:

There are two focal points on this version - the sentiment panel, and the three ornament.  That breaks a rule of the challenge, because there must be only one focal point. 

On this one, I silver-embossed the ornaments on black striped paper.

For these two cards, I used two new Sizzix Tim Holtz embossing folders:  Damask and Regal Flourishes.   I love 'em!  I made a mistake and used the folder backwards on both cards.   So, now they are debossed instead of embossed. 

I want to share my pumpkin bread recipe with you, the one I mentioned in the last post.
It has chocolate chips in it, so it is a bit different.  It calls for nuts too, but my kids don't like them so I don't put them in (boo hoo).

Pumpkin Bread

Makes two large loaves.  Preheat oven to 350.

Dry ingredients:
3 1/2 cups sifted flour (I don't bother to sift mine)
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Wet ingredients:
1 cup melted butter
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Blend butter and sugar.  Add eggs; blend.  Add pumpkin; blend.  Add wet ingredients to dry; blend.  Add chocolate chips and nuts, mix just until blended.  Spray two large loaf pans with no-stick cooking spray.  Pour batter 2/3 full into each pan.  OPTION:  sprinkle nuts on top of loaf instead of mixing in, or eliminate altogether.
Bake 1 hour or until a tester inserted into middle of loaf comes out clean.


Hope you enjoy that recipe.  My 9 YO will eat it, and that's really saying something for her.  (it's because of the chocolate, don't you know)

Thanks for joining me!

Colleen

Stamps:  Tree Trimmings (SU), Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper:  Whisper White, white and black designer paper (retired) by SU
Ink:  Versamark
Punches:  designer label, small oval, large oval, wide oval
Other:  Big Shot, Sizzix Tim Holtz embossing folders in Damask and Regal Flourishes, red and clear rhinestones by Queen & Co., dimensionals, Cherry Cobbler marker, black and silver embossing powder, heat tool, silver cord scraps, black satin ribbon scraps

Mismatched Mittens

It's not a huge difference, but my mittens don't match.  Just goes to show you that coloring small, detailed images is best left to a time when you are not dog-tired.  :)

I'm using a new set from my recent Flourishes win, called Warm Winter Wishes.  It is such an adorable set.  I like the sentiments that come with it, too.

I tied a corduroy button onto my large oval punch with retired Fancy Fibers from Stampin' Up!.  The mittens were colored with SU markers, but since I don't have a Soft Sky marker (don't think they ever made one), I used an ink pad and blender pen.  For the cuffs and pom-poms, I custom-blended Martha Stewart Coarse Glitter in Crystal with MS Flocking Powder in Swan.

This card will be entered at Off The Wall Craftiness, whose color palette is this:

And also at Etsy Inspired Challenge, using this photo as my inspiration (courtesy of Queen of Tarts Cake Shop):

Aren't those mitten and sweater cookies too cute to eat?

One more entry:  Stampin' B, with snowflakes as the challenge.
As is often the case with me, I make two of a card and they each look subtly different.  Here are pix of the other card that was sponged with Soft Sky around the mittens, and the sentiment oval was placed elsewhere.

I'm off to make some Pumpkin Bread for my 9 YO's class celebration tomorrow.  I'll put the recipe here later for you, if you would like to try it.  It has chocolate chips in it, and if my 9 YO will eat this, then I think most picky eaters would as well.  We think Kerry will be an FDA Food Inspector when she grows up, the way she eyes her food in a microscopic way for anything that looks suspicious.  :)

Thanks for coming by.  I always appreciate your visit!

Colleen

Stamps:  Warm Winter Wishes by Flourishes

Paper:  Creamy Caramel, Soft Sky, Whisper White, kraft by SU

Ink:  Stazon Black, Creamy Caramel, Walnut Stain distress ink

Punches:  large oval, Martha Stewart zig zag

Other:  Big Shot; Spellbinders oval, scalloped oval & labels ten; pearls from Queen & Co.; dimensionals; corduroy buttons from SU; Fancy Fibers from SU; SU markers, blender pen; Martha Stewart Coarse Glitter in Crystal, MS Flocking Powder in Swan

Inspired by Glass Trees

Hello everyone.  I hope you've had a great weekend.  I am exhausted from a busy weekend at work (imagine working at a grocery store, several days before our Thanksgiving!).  I managed to make a quick card yesterday morning, inspired by these glass trees available at grandinroad.com:

These modern trees reminded me right away of the Stampin' Up! set, Patterned Pines.
And using the color palette from The Play Date Cafe....

....here is the simple card I came up with:

I used SU markers in Marina Mist, Tempting Turquoise; Old Olive, Always Artichoke; Poppy Parade, Cherry Cobbler.  With each tree, I first colored the image in the lighter of the two hues, then stroked on a darker marker.  Unfortunately, it's not all that noticeable.  :(
I was trying to be creative.

Luckily, I had matching rhinestone colors and coordinated them on the trees.
The ribbon is new to me, an Old Olive stripe from SU's Clearance Rack.  And the embossing folder is also new to me, from Sizzix, called Powdered Sugar (huh?). 

I'm also entering at Etsyinspired Challenge, which features Queen of Tarts Cake Shop as their inspiration this time 'round.  I chose this photo here, which features the colors of my card:

And also at Really Reasonable Ribbon's challenge blog, where the theme is Christmas with a ribbon.

Thanks so much for coming over.  I always appreciate your visit!

Happy Stamping,
Colleen

Stamps:  Patterned Pines by SU

Paper:  DCWV textured red cardstock, white by PTI

Other:  ribbon from SU, dimensionals, scalloped rectangle die from Spellbinders, SU markers (colors listed in paragraphs above), Stampamajig, Big Shot, Powdered Sugar embossing folder from Sizzix

Holly and Celery

Nope, I'm not offering any recipes containing holly leaves today.  The title refers to my holly-themed card and liberal use of Certainly Celery.

I made four of these last night, assembly-line style.  I used gold embossing powder to do the sentiment, which comes from the Stampin' Up! set Snow Swirled, and also the holly leaf cluster which comes from SU's Sleigh Bells Ring.  The leaves were colored with SU markers:  Certainly Celery, Old Olive, and Always Artichoke; the berries with Real Red and Cherry Cobbler.

How do you like the embossing folder?  It's new-to-me, from Sizzix, and it's called Snow Globe.  I think it's a misnomer.  It has nothing to do with snowglobes! 

I can proudly show you a close-up of my gold embossing -- see, no freckles!!

I'm entering in these challenges today:

• Flourishes FTTC93 - Just Do It! - make a Christmas card
• Flourishes Bring Back Beautiful #4 - to use ribbon

Thanks for dropping by today.  You have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Stamping,

Colleen

Stamps:  Snow Swirled, Sleigh Bells Ring (SU)
Paper:  Certainly Celery, Whisper White scrap
Ink:  Versamark
Other:  Big Shot, Sizzix embossing folder Snow Globe, gold embossing powder, SU markers, Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals, Stampamajig

A Plum Christmas

Hello friends!  I have a Christmas card that features untraditional colors.  I got my color scheme from Cupcake's Creations Color Challenge CR84FN4:

This is a clean and simple card, because I am entering it into the Splitcoast CAS Winter Design Team challenge.  

The good folks at Flourishes have an easy challenge in FTTC93:  "Just Do It!" - make those Christmas cards!  I know I don't have enough right now.  However, I won't be mass-producing this card.  Despite its simple design, the details all took quite a bit of time. 

I began by heat-embossing my sentiment on the Perfect Plum panel before adding any accessories.  (don't peek too closely; I can never seem to get a clean emboss without any 'freckles')

After securing this gorgeous pewter satin ribbon on the back of plum panel with Sticky Strip (on one end only at first), I tied gray sewing thread around the ribbon in two places to create gathers.  Then I secured the other ribbon end to the back of the panel.

The snowflakes were punched first out of Whisper White cardstock, then a rhinestone was adhered to the center of each one.  Using my Zig Two-Way Glue Pen, I lightly covered parts of each snowflake and sprinkled with Martha Stewart Coarse Glitter in 'Crystal'.  After they dried, a dimensional on the back helped attach them to the panel.

I'm also entering here:

• Pollycraft Monday Challenge - a Glitter Christmas
• Really Reasonable Ribbons Ramblings - Christmas
• Bring Back Beautiful #4 - Flourishes - use ribbon
• Stampin' B - use snowflakes
• Mark's Finest Papers - snowflakes

Thanks so much for joining me today!  Now go make some holiday cards.  :)

Colleen

Stamps:  Flourishes
Paper:  Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Whisper White
Ink:  Versamark
Punch:  Martha Stewart snowflake
Other:  Martha Stewart Coarse Glitter in Crystal, rhinestones from Queen & Co., white embossing powder (SU), pewter satin ribbon - Offray, gray sewing thread, dimensionals, Sticky Strip

Back From Charleston, Happy News

Hello friends!  We're back from our trip to Charleston, South Carolina, for my brother-in-law's wedding.  We had a wonderful time and the weather was beautiful, and the wedding was just perfect.  My new sister-in-law has such an eye for details!

One of the 'souvenirs' we brought back from the trip are colds for two of us, my husband and me.  I feel pretty lousy today.  I don't even have energy for making a card.  :(

But I want to share a few pictures from my trip with you.  If you like old-world architecture, then Charleston would delight you.  I wound up taking more pictures of buildings than of people.

For the Happy News part of this post, scroll down past the photos.

Drayton Hall, a rice plantation

Gateway to the basement at Drayton Hall

Detail of a ceiling medallion at Drayton Hall



Above two photos are of woodwork in Drayton Hall, America's oldest
preserved home that is open to the public.

Inside the Huguenot Church where the wedding took place,
memorial plaques line the walls.  These caught my eye in particular. 
Look closely at the names.

More plaques inside the Huguenot church.  Some are quite grand.

This cluster of photos is from the Trinity Methodist Church, founded 1791:

My pretty girls, all dressed up for the wedding.

The happy news?  I've been named as a Guest Designer for Off The Wall Craftiness!  I have to wait my turn until early 2011, but I am super excited.  If you have never played there before, go see the beautiful inspiration photos they feature each week. 

More happy news:  this Christmas tag won over at Really Reasonable Ribbon's Ramblings challenge blog for their Winter Theme.

And the card below helped me win the Warm Winter Wishes challenge over at Flourishes.  I can't wait to get their November releases in the mail!

And finally, one of my blog friends, Ruth Martens, nominated me for this award:

Thank you, Ruth!  Good luck with your new CTMH consulting!

And thank you, everyone who stuck with me through this long post!  Sorry to do that to you.

Happy Stamping,