Way in the back of the catalog there is a page of stamps that are under $10.  There are some great choices and one of my favorites is  Dasher (116816).  Here is a quick card I made for a swap.

Stamps:  Dasher & Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Close to Cocoa Craft Ink

Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Soft Suede DSP & Bride Specialty paper (must have!)

Extras:  Iridescent Ice embossing powder & 3/4" Real Red Polka Dot Grosgrain ribbon, Dimensionals

This card is quick and easy and it would be a snap to make a lot of.  If there is anything you would like to order go HERE and click on Shop Now and make sure you check the under $10 page (208) in the SU Catalog.

I wanted to  make some flowers using the Sweet Centers stamp set.  Here is what I made.

I used the leaves from the Leaves #2 die instead of the ones in the set.  As much as I liked how this turned out I was not ready to cut out another set of petals.  Here is my lazy stamper solution.

I used the new Ornament punch from the Holiday mini to punch out the petals.  I found that if I used the 1 3/4" circle punch to trim off the top it fit nicely around the Sweet Treat cup.  This does make a larger flower and it is very quick and easy.  I also love that I have yet another way to use the Ornament punch.  If you are interested in purchasing any of the products please go to my website: www.sharonstamps.stampinup.net or click on the Shop button on the upper right hand side of the blog. 

Check back soon for more fun stamping ideas!

Indulge me for a moment, another snowman project  before heading back to more fall ideas.  I really am NOT ready for winter or looking forward to it but I do like snowmen especially the stamped kind!

I used the same colors for this project as I did  here.  The Sweet Treat cups are so easy and fun to use and at 12 for $2.95 a great deal.  You can view the Holiday Mini catalog by going here or click on the Holiday Mini located on the left hand side of the blog.  

Here is what the inside of the card looks like.

The scallop on the left is how you can get to the treat.  If you are interested in seeing what I did to make the treat easy to get to without having to destroy the whole card. Leave me a comment and I will do a tutorial.  Thanks for visiting and hope to stamp with you soon!

I needed to make some birthday and thank you cards.  I also wanted to participate in a challenge so I decided to combine the two.  This sketch was not easy for me, I guess that is why they call it a challenge!

Stamps:  Asian Artistry (hostess set)

Paper:  Apricot Appeal, Soft Suede, Whisper White and Bride specialty paper

Ink:  Black Stazon, Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Suede, Old Olive

Extras:  Fire Rhinestone brads taken out of the holder, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, 1/4 circle punch,Aqua Painter

While I was fiddling with the card above I stamped on the Bride paper and decided to try another card using the sketch.

Stamps:  Asian Artistry and Thank You Kindly

Paper:  Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black, Bride specialty paper.

Ink:  Black Stazon, Old Olive, Soft Suede,Rich Razzleberry

Extras:  SU Texturz plate-SU Backgrounds #1, 1/2 pearls, 1/4" circle punch, Aqua Painter

On this card I sponged the Bride Specialty paper(striped piece) with Rich Razzleberry ink.  I love how this looks.  I used the swirl pattern in the Bride Specialty paper pack and stamped the flower.  Once again the design on the paper resists the ink in places.  This makes for an interesting design on the flowers and the leaves. 

Here is what the sketch looks like:

Thank you Stamping 411 for a fun and challenging challenge! 

Isn't this one of the cutest snowmen?  Yes, he is available in the Holiday mini catalog.

I wish this stamp had been available when my son was little.  It sure would have made writing thank you notes a lot easier.  I think they will be super cute gift tags for my presents.  Since I will be using this stamp primarily without the words I decided to do this to the stamp.

I used both a craft knife and my rubber cutting scissors to cut out the words.    Now I can pop the words in and out of the image.  I could have used a marker to omit the words instead of cutting them out but I know I will be using the image primarily without the words.

Does it seem too early to be showing Christmas ideas?  Well, it won't be too long until I am starting up my 12 Weeks of Christmas emails.  Make sure you are on my mailing list or you won't receive the 12 Weeks of ideas.  Go to the upper left hand side of my blog and sign up there and you will be all set to receive all the fun holiday ideas!

Good Morning!  I was up early this morning tinkering in my stamp room.  I keep a box of new products on my stamp table to remind me that I need to make something with the new goodies before buying more!  I know what a concept!   The Serene Snowflake set from the Holiday mini catalog got inked up this morning.  Here's the first thing I made with this set.

I inked the large image in silver Encore ink and embossed it with silver embossing powder.  I did use a Stampamajig to help me get the images lined up.  I want to show you a little experiment I did.

Do you know what I did to get the different looks on the ovals?

Scroll down for the answer.

The top oval was inked with Silver Encore ink and embossed with Silver embossing powder.   

The bottom oval was inked in Black Craft ink and then embossed with Silver embossing powder.   I knew it would make a difference but was surprised at how much of a difference it made.

Drop by tomorrow for more Holiday Mini catalog goodness! 

It feels great to be back in my stamp room!  It has been a while since I have stamped, okay maybe just a week and a half.  I was on vacation and met up with friends that I have not seen in quite a while.  That was a lot of fun and darn it they all looked fabulous!  The boys picked me up and we headed down to California to take my son back to college.  It was a great road trip but I could have done without the part when our son dropped us off at the airport.  If you know me, you know I was crying as he drove off. 

When I got into my stamp room I planned to ink up those stamps from the Holiday mini that went LIVE yesterday!  (There has been a delay in the mailing of some of the minis so if you do not receive one from me by next week please let me know.  If you want to see all the Holiday Mini goodness take a look on the left hand side of the blog and you should be able to click it and see it. )  Instead I saw these frames that I purchased a while ago at the Dollar Store for some long forgotten project and decided to start my fall decorations.

These frames came 6 to a package and are made of paper and foamcore.  I sponged on some Pumpkin Pie classic ink and some black around the edges to make it a little more spooky.   I used some SU chipboard letters and inked them up in Black Craft ink.  I then dipped them in Heat and Stick powder and heated them with the heat gun.

Let me refresh your memory about how Heat and Stick works. Heat and stick powder is an adhesive that becomes sticky when you heat it.  The part you need to be careful of is that you do not heat the powder too much.  You want to heat it only until you see the powder melt.  If you heat it too long it will no longer be sticky.  Of course if you do not heat it enough to melt the powder it won't be sticky and will just brush off.  Once you have melted the powder you can dip it into whatever you want to adhere.  In this project I used the Black Chunky Essentials glitter.  Once I applied the glitter I heated it again which seals the glitter to the Heat and Stick.  I then attached the frames to the gorgeous Pumpkin Pie 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain. 

Here's a close up of one of the letters.

It is definitely time to start working on your Fall cards and decorations.  Check out the Holiday Mini catalog for more Fall stamp sets and accesories.  Be sure you look at the great special!  It is time to schedule your Fall stamping classes/parties so contact me and we will have a stamping good time!