I love this week's Create with Connie and Mary Challenge.  It is a Color Challenge and I love this combination!

Some days things just work out.  I needed to work on my card for the design team and just minutes before I  received the Seasonal Lantern bundle from the upcoming Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog.   I knew it was a sign and I needed to get the Seasonal Lantern set inked up!

It was so much fun playing with the images and dies.  There are 36 stamps in the set and 17 dies.  So many possibilities.  I know I will be using the cute little bow stamp and die a lot!  The sentiment stamp (from the Seasonal Lantern set ) actually says Autumn Greetings.  I decided to just ink up the "Greetings" so I can use the card for any occasion. 

Tomorrow, September 1 is when the Stampin' Up! Holiday catalog will go live.  Just one more sleep.  If you do not have a Holiday catalog of your own and do not already have a demonstrator you work with, please contact me and I will get one mailed to you.

Be sure to go to the Create with Connie and Mary blog and see what the rest of the design team created.  They always inspire me with their creativty!

Time for the Try Stampin' on Tuesday challenge. 

This sketch had me stumped!  After a couple of false starts I finally decided that I would pull out the Pick a Pattern Designer Series Paper and hope it would inspire me.  

The sentiment from the Pieces & Patterns stamp set is the only thing stamped on my card.  The little flowers were cut out from the Pick a Pattern Designer Series Paper.   I used the Metallic Enamel Shapes and the retired In Color enamel shapes for the center of the flowers. I debated if the striped Flirty Flamingo Grosgrain ribbon was too much pattern.  What do you think?  

I hope you will try your hand at this sketch.  I look forward to seeing what everyone creates.  If you need some inspiration, be sure to check out what the other members of the design team created.  Hope you play along with us, I look forward to seeing your creations!

I cannot believe it has been a week since I last posted.  It is a good thing that the Create with Connie and Mary Challenge is weekly.  Here is the sketch we had to work with this week for the challenge.

I just ordered the Coffee Cafe bundle and Coffee Break Designer Series Paper.   Honestly I was not going to order the bundle but when I saw that there was another set (in the Holiday Catalog)  that coordinated with this bundle, I knew I had to order it.  Since I am late to the Coffee Cafe bundle I knew it was the framelits and Designer Series Paper that I needed to use for this sketch.  

I tried to use the sentiments from the Coffee Cafe stamp set but they were to large for the space.  Then it came to me to use the Balloon Celebration stamp set.  The sentiments in the Balloon Celebration set also work well with the Coffee Cafe set.  

Do you see the cute little hearts on the coffee cups?  Can you guess where I got them from?  I used one of the panels from the Window Box thinlits and the hearts fit perfectly.  I love it when I find different uses for the thinlits I have.  

Be sure to check out what the other members of the Create with Connie and Mary Design team made for this challenge.  You can get all the details on the Create with Connie and Mary blog.  

It is time for the Create with Connie and Mary Challenge.  This week we have a color challenge.

Before I even show you what I made for this challenge I want to apologize to the color,  Lemon Lime Twist.  I just cannot take a picture that captures how fabulous you are. 

 You will need:

4-1/4" x 11" Bermuda Bay card stock scored at 5-1/2" , 3"x 3-3/4" (cut out dragonflies)

3-1/2" x 4-3/4" Lemon Lime Twist card stock

3-1/4" x 4-1/2" Smoky Slate card stock

3" x 3-3/4" Multipurpose Adhesive sheet

Lemon Lime Twist Finely Woven ribbon

1. Apply the Multipurpose Adhesive sheet to the back of the 3" x 3-3/4" piece of Bermuda Bay card stock.  Use the thinlit and cut out the dragonflies.  Emboss the dragonflies using a mix of Clear Embossing powder and Dazzling Diamonds glitter aka Glittery Goodness.
2. Cut the dragonflies out of the Smoky Slate card stock.  The Smoky Slate dragonflies will not be used on this card. Layer the Smoky Slate card stock on to the Lemon Lime Twist card stock.  
3. Remove the backing from the Multipurpose Adhesive sheet and fit the Bermuda Bay dragonflies into the dragonflies silhouette on the Smoky Slate piece.
4. Tie a double knot using the Lemon Lime Twist Finely Woven ribbon.  Layer on to the Bermuda Bay card base.  Stamp "hello" and embellish using the Silver Metallic Enamel Shapes.

Product List

Climbing Orchid Photopolymer Stamp Set [143723] $27.00	Versamark Pad [102283] $8.50	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $6.00	Bermuda Bay 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [131197] $8.00
Lemon Lime Twist 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [144245] $8.00	Smoky Slate 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [131202] $8.00	Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder [109130] $5.00	Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter [133751] $5.00
Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies [142749] $31.00	Lemon Lime Twist 1/2" Finely Woven Ribbon [144135] $7.00	Metallic Enamel Shapes [141678] $7.00

I hope you will join in the challenge.  You can get all the details on how to play along with the Create with Connie and Mary Challenge on the blog.   Be sure to check out what the other designers created, I think you will be impressed by the talent and creativity of the team.

Time for the Try Stampin' On Tuesday Challenge.  I love the clean and simple sketch we have this week!

I am still playing and loving the Climbing Orchid bundle.  If you like pretty flowers especially orchids then this bundle is for you.  

Product List

Climbing Orchid Photopolymer Bundle [145334] $46.75	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [126974] $6.50	Powder Pink Classic Stampin' Pad [144084] $6.50	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad [126983] $6.50
Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad [126953] $6.50	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [140272] $7.00	Powder Pink 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [144244] $8.00	Old Olive 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100702] $8.00
Early Espresso 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [119686] $8.00	Layered Leaves Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [143704] $9.00

I hope you will join in the Try Stampin' on Tuesday challenge.  Be sure to check the blog to see what the other members of the design team created.  I know you will be inspired!

Welcome to the Stamper's Dozen Blog Hop!  This month we are giving you a sneak peek into the upcoming Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog.  Every stop along the hop will feature some of the fun and fabulous products that can be found in the "Creativity Delivered" 2017 Holiday Catalog.  The catalog will go live on September 1 and run through January 2, 2018.   This catalog is packed with so much holiday goodness that you will be covered from  Halloween to Valentine's Day!  As a demonstrator I was able to pre-order products from this catalog and all I can say is that it was my largest pre-order to date!  Once you see the catalog I think you will totally understand why.

The biggest problem I had was trying to decide what to share with you for this hop.  I decided to start with Halloween.  I know not everyone enjoys Halloween but the beauty of this bundle, Season to Sparkle is that you can use it for lots of other occasions not just Halloween.  I will be sharing more ideas with you in upcoming posts.

A spooky chandelier!  The Season to Sparkle stamp set has 25 photopolymer stamps.  There are sentiments and lots of different bling to decorate your chandelier.  The chandelier in the stamp set is different than the one in the coordinating thinlits.  In other words the thinlit doesn't cut out the stamped image.  This gives you 2 different chandeliers to play with!  All the other pieces coordinate with the stamped and die cut chandelier.  Lots of possibilities to create lots and lots of fun chandeliers.  

I love this fun fold.  It is fun to receive and open and like a lot of fun folds easy to make.  The hardest part may be choosing which of the fabulous designs in the Spooky Night Designer Series Paper to feature.

Here are the measurements if you want to recreate this card fold.

Basic Black:   Card base  4.25" x 11" scored at 2.75", 5.5"

                         Chandelier panel 3.25" x 9.75" scored at 4.25", 7"

Very Vanilla:  Card base  4" X 5.25"   

                          Chandelier panel 3" x 4",  2.5" x 3"

Spooky Night DSP : Card base  2.5" x 4"

                                      Chandelier panel 2.5" x 3"

Now it is time for you to see what the fabulous Laura Milligan has created for you!

If you just came from Laura's blog, then be sure to see what BJ Peters has dreamt up to share with you!

Thank you for hopping along with the Stamper's Dozen Blog Hop!  Be sure to subscribe to my blog feed so you won't miss out on future hops and postings!

It is Thursday and time for the Create with Connie and Mary Challenge. This week we have great sketch.

This was a perfect sketch to use my new stamp set and thinlits, the Climbing Orchid bundle.  I always knew I would get this bundle.  When I first saw the catalog and saw this stamp set it reminded me of my Mom. My Mom loved orchids and she grew beautiful ones.  There was always a pot of blooming orchids in the house.   My paper orchids are the best I can do since I did not inherit her green thumb.  

I made these orchids out of card stock vellum and embossed them with my custom glitter/embossing powder mix known as Glittery Goodness.  It is very important when you emboss vellum that you first rub it with the Embossing Buddy.  The Embossing Buddy helps prevent stray grains of embossing powder from sticking where you don't want it to.  

Here is a close up and I hope you can see some of the glitter on the petals.  It really is a pretty and very delicate look.  

Product List

Climbing Orchid Photopolymer Bundle [145334] $46.75	Bunch Of Blossoms Photopolymer Stamp Set [141573] $21.00	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $6.00	Versamark Pad [102283] $8.50
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [140272] $7.00	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121045] $8.00	Old Olive 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100702] $8.00	Early Espresso 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [119686] $8.00
Pick A Pattern Designer Series Paper [144163] $11.00	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies [145372] $30.00	Seasonal Layers Thinlits Dies [143751] $33.00

I hope you will join in the challenge.  Please head on over the the Create with Connie and Mary blog and be sure to check out what the other designers created with this sketch.

Lately I have been trying to make little treat bags that are not filled with candy.  It seems like more and more people are trying to reduce their sugar intake.  Here is one idea that uses the Lemon Zest bundle. 

Cute right?  The bricks on the topper are actually embossing paste that I colored using a drop of Daffodil Delight re-inker.  I also mixed in some Dazzling Diamond glitter in the paste to give it a subtle glittery look.  The brick pattern is a stencil in the Pattern Party Decorative Masks.  The lemon is stamped in Crushed Curry with Garden Green leaves and punched out using the Lemon Builder punch.

Product List

Lemon Zest Clear-Mount Bundle [145360] $34.00	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $6.00	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad [131173] $6.50	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [119672] $3.75	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad [126973] $6.50	Garden Green 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [102584] $8.00
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $9.00	Embossing Paste [141979] $8.00	Palette Knives [142808] $5.00	Pattern Party Decorative Masks [144103] $6.00	Garden Green 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon [144181] $8.00	Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter [133751] $5.00

The Lemon Zest bundle is great for all kinds of treat bags, gifts and cards too!  

Oh So Eclectic bundle you are my fave.  Yes, it is true I have a lot of favorites.  Right now this bundle is what I am reaching for when I get ready to stamp.  

I paired the Oh So Eclectic bundle with the Diagonal Stripe background stamp.  I purchased this stamp so I could easily make my own striped paper in any color I want.   Here I stamped it on the diagonal in Smoky Slate ink.   This color combination of Real Red, Old Olive, Smoky Slate, and Black is one  I use a lot.

Product List

Oh So Eclectic Clear-Mount Bundle [145356] $47.50	Diagonal Stripe Clear-Mount Stamp [141917] $15.00	One Big Meaning Clear-Mount Stamp Set [139420] $19.00	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad [126949] $6.50	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $6.00
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [140272] $7.00	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121045] $8.00	Old Olive 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100702] $8.00	Real Red 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [102482] $8.00

I shared a little tip on this post to help  with die cutting the flower outline.  It helped me a lot and I hope it helps you too.

It is HOT here in the usually cool Pacific Northwest.  I think the hot, sunny weather definitely influenced the stamp set I chose to work with for the Create with Connie and Mary Challenge.  First here are the colors for the challenge.

Don't ya just love those sunglasses?  I covered the lenses with Fine-Tip glue to give it them a shiny glass like look.  The glue also helps give the lenses some dimension.

Here are the products I used:

Stamps: Pocketful of Sunshine bundle,  Happy Birthday Gorgeous

Ink: Night of Navy, Fresh Fig, Tuxedo Black Memento pad

Paper: Night of Navy, Whisper White, Fresh Fig, Powder Pink, Fresh Florals DSP Stack

Big Shot: Layering Squares, Pocket Framelits 

Embellishments: Rhinestones

Adhesives: Tear and Tape, Fine-tip Glue Pen, SNAIL

I hope you will join in the challenge.  Be sure to check out what the other designers made for the challenge.  I hope you will join in the fun.  I look forward to seeing what you create!