Wanna See Some of My Halloween Decorations?

I moved into a new house last year (the big move from NY to MN). I always look forward to pulling out my Halloween and Fall decorations. This year at Convention we learned how to make some of our home decor items. I made one of the items: the Halloween firecracker made out of a Pringles can. The little square picture frame was a coordinating project that I came up with on my own. Believe it or not, I picked up the square picture frames (in a 3 pack) from the Target $ spot. There is a ribbon hanging from the back if you wish to hang it on the wall rather than placing it on a plate rack like I did.

Both items were really cute and EASY. The Creepy Crawly Designer Paper makes it so easy (especially the sheet with all the words and phrases on it). The other embellishments were made with the Batty for You stamp set and several circle punches (scallop, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8").

We're in for a stormy day here near the Twin Cities in MN. That's okay though.....I really like lazy Sundays. Looks like a day of football, snacks, helping the kids study for tests (ugh....Geometry). I hope everyone enjoys today!!! I plan on sneaking some stamping in.....I need to get ready for a Holiday Stamp-a-Stack.

Happy Stamping Everyone!!!

Spritzing Technique

I have my monthly Technique Class tonight. We are learning Spritz Stamping and Versamark Resist. Here is a card I made with the Spritzing Technique.

It's really simple. You need to use a solid stamp as opposed to a line stamp (I used images from the Autumn Fest stamp set). Ink up the solid stamp with the lightest ink color of your project. In this project, I used More Mustard. I then used my Color Spritzer tool to spritz on my Stampin' Write marker colors: first I used Old Olive and then Ruby Red. Huff (breathe) on the stamp to re-moisten the ink, and then stamp onto Very Vanilla Cardstock. I sponged with Close to Cocoa, and then mounted onto 2 layers: Old Olive and Choc Chip.

The base of the card is More Mustard stamped with the smallest leaf image and acorn in More Mustard ink. I added some 5/8" grosgrain ribbon and vintage brads to complete the card.

Happy Stamping everyone!!

Run to Your Restaurants Ladies

Run....do not walk to your favorite chain restaurants. Why do you ask? Well, you don't have to cook the meal or clean up after it. But the main reason is for the free coasters, of course. My family thought I was CERTIFIABLY INSANE when I started grabbing the piles of coasters at some restaurants we frequent: Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company, Outback, etc... I love using them to make cute little gifts. My sister-in-law is hostessing a workshop for me tonight. As a special little gift to her, I made this adorable little album for her 2007 Halloween pics. It was so easy to apply the Creepy Crawly designer paper, use the sanding blocks to remove any excess and decorate however I wanted. Of course, I always go back to "Batty for You" for any cute Halloween item.

Here is a peek at the inside of the album (or frame). It will look FABULOUS with black and white photos of my nieces and nephew!!!

Here are all the deets:

stamp sets: Batty for You

paper: Creepy Crawly designer paper, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard

ink: Basic Black

accessories: Cropodile, Mustard grosgrain ribbon, circle punches (1 1/4", 1 3/8" and scallop), dimensionals, sponges


Happy Stamping Everyone!!

Sneak Peek - November Class

Here is a sneak peek of the projects we will be making in my "Totally Terrific Tags" class I will be holding in November.

We will be making 10 tags (5 designs, 2 of each design). The fee for this class is $15. If you do not live in the Twin Cities, MN area, I would be more than happy to put together a "Stamp on the Go" kit for you. Email me for all the details!!!

Happy Stamping everyone!!!!

True Friend.....Finally!!!

Did you ever buy a stamp set on a whim? Yeah, me too! This is my "gotta have it" purchase. I saw many beautiful things made with it. BUT then when it's in my hot little hands, I wasn't inspired to make anything with it. So, there it sat, on my stamping desk for weeks.....yes, weeks!!! I could've CASEd something from SCS, but I don't like to copy. My neverending quest is to design!!! So, I had to wait for something to hit me.

The idea sorta hit me the other day. I was working on the More Mustard layer. It's the 3 flower stem stamped in More Mustard on More Mustard cardstock. I then overstamped with my Linen background stamp also in More Mustard ink. The edges were cut with the Ticket Corner punch and sponged in Chocolate Chip ink.

The designer paper is from the Holiday Mini catalog. It's as delicious as it's name, Apple Cider. I also sponged the edges with Chocolate Chip to give it some dimension and vintageness (totally made up word.....do you like it?). I used my Chocolate Taffeta ribbon to make a simple know. I cut the ends in a chevron for some more eye candy!! This entire layer is then mounted on Chocolate Chip which is then mounted on the Really Rust base card.

The focal image is inked with my SU markers (Really Rust and Old Olive) and stamped on Very Vanilla. This is mounted on Old Olive. I put a brad in the center of the flower to finish it off.

I have to start getting ready for my Technique Class on Friday. If you live near Chaska, MN and are interested in taking one of my FABULOUS classes, send me an email. There is an email me button right below my picture (which I need to update.....cut my hair again....shorter).
I would love to meet you!!!

Happy Stamping Everyone!!!

I've Been Tagged

Emily Weems tagged me......so it here it goes!!!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) - Bridget Odyssey
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Chocolate Oreo
3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) P-CHE (love it....peachy)
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) - Purple Dog
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) - Che-Pa
6. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put “The”) The Pink Margarita
7. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)- Donald Bernard
8. STRIPPER NAME : ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) Beautiful Snickers
9.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Ann Louis

I think everybody and their mother (does anyone else use that saying???) has been tagged. If you have not been tagged yet, I declare that you have now been tagged by ME. Have fun!!!!

Happy Stamping Everyone!!!

I'm Still Here!

Happy Thursday everyone!! Sorry that I haven't posted in a few days, but I've been swamped here. I have been designing and prepping for a "Terrific Tags" class being held in Mankato tonight. I will take a picture of the tags once I get my digital camera back from my brother. They came out really cute if I do say so myself.

My other big project is setting up our Halloween village. Dennis painted our living room a gorgeous cranberry color. It took longer than expected as it required 4 coats (not including the gray primer coat) in order to get even coverage. It now looks amazing!!! So, now the building of the village scene is highest on the agenda. We're starting fresh this year......cutting styrofoam, painting, drybrushing......it's a lot of work, but it looks so cool when it's done. I have to make a Michael's run today to pick up some floral pins so I can build the waterfall. The plan is to construct a waterfall using clear silicone caulking, Saran wrap, low temp hot glue and some glow in the dark green paint. I am trying to mimic the awesome waterfall created by the designers at the Dept. 56 flagship store at the Mall of America. If you are in the vicinity, you should really check out this store. Their displays are PHENOMENAL.

I hope everyone has a great day. The weather here in MN is gorgeous.....70s and sunny. The weekend is supposed to be near 80. I think we'll turn on the pool heater and get some last minute swim time in before the pool gets closed up on Sept 29th. That is such a sad day because it only means that cold weather is on it's way.

Happy Stamping Everyone!!!

Things That Creep and Crawl

What things "creep and crawl up on you"? Hmmmm......spiders, underwear that is too small, and of course, THE HOLIDAYS!!!!

Okay, wacky humor aside, it's true. It seems that no matter how much we plan, the holidays come up upon us way too fast. It is definitely the time to start planning your Christmas cards. This card is one I designed for a Holiday Workshop WOW swap I participated in.

The base card is Real Red. I used my Coluzzle oval to cut out both the oval on the Certainly Celery layer (stamped with the flourish with Certainly Celery ink) and the vellum. The vellum is stamped with the "Season of Joy" stamp set using my white StazOn ink pad. The vellum oval is adhered to the base card using a gold brad. I accentuated the red oval with some hand-drawn linework using my white gel pen. The accent on the left is a 1 1/2"x4" (scored at 1/2") piece of Garden Green. I used my cropodile to punch two holes and tied the flap down with some red gingham ribbon. The tree is stamped with Garden Green ink on Whisper White cardstock, cut out, and placed on the card with a dimensional.

Take my advice.....enjoy your holidays this year.....stress-free (I know, I am dreaming). Start planning your cards now.....make a few each week......before you know it, you are done!!!!

Happy Stamping Everyone!!!!

Matthew's Birthday Card

Today was my nephew's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. All of the kids had a blast eating pizza, playing arcade games, dancing with the big rat, and going through those germ-infested tunnels. Yes, even my teenagers had a blast going through those tunnels!!! Too funny!!!

Matthew is a HUGE baseball fan. He is turning 7 on Monday, but #7 is also the number of one of his favorite Minnesota Twins, Joe Mauer. So, Matthew can decide which of the two the "7" represents.

This card uses the masking technique. I first stamped the baseball hat from the "Just Baseball" stamp set. I then stamped another hat on a post-it note, cut it out, and placed it over the hat I just stamped. I then inked up the adorable fish and stamped. Remove the post-it note, and voila, it looks like the fish is wearing a hat. Cool, huh?

This fish (from my beloved retired "Fishy Friends") is colored with my watercolor crayons and blender pens. I used Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Only Orange, So Saffron and Summer Sun. The kelp and the sign are hand-drawn. The baseball (also from "Just Baseball") was inked in Going Gray, stamped off and then stamped on Whisper White. I added the red highlights with my Real Red marker.

The ocean bottom is a torn piece of Kraft cardstock. I added some bubbles using Itty Bitty Backgrounds. I then sponged the edges with Tempting Turquoise. The number "7" is stamped with Only Orange using my retired Classic Numbers set.

Matthew loved his card!!!! It was so much fun to make......I hope you like it too!!!

Happy Stamping Everyone!!!

Fall Sparkles!!

Here is another card for this Sunday's Fabulous Fall Stamp Camp. I was waiting for my Tres Chic background stamp to get here. I really didn't love this stamp in the catty, but after seeing lots of beautiful things made with it on SCS, I decided to take the plunge and BUY IT!!!!

The colors on this card are Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie and Purely Pomegranate. This combination is just so luscious!!!

The flower is inked up with Pumpkin Pie and daubered with Purely Pomegranate. This gives it the variegated look. Add some Dazzling Diamonds and it's done!!!

I hope everyone has a great day!!!! Happy Stamping!!!!

Another Stamp Camp Card

This lovely card is another project for my Fabulous Fall Stamp Camp (this Sunday at 2pm). I bought this stamp set for my Thanksgiving Table Ensemble class I am holding in October. BUT.....it was screaming at me....dying to be used earlier. So, I gave in and designed a fall card.

It's hard to tell, but the top of the acorn is all raised and shiny (thanks to Crystal Effects). I really like the way it turned out!!!

DH is taking the day off. He and I are heading to the Mall of America to check out the Department 56 store for Halloween village ideas. I just love setting up the Halloween village.....although it seems to take FOREVER. This year, the plan is to build up. We've been saving styrofoam all year in order to make our vison a reality.

I have some new rubbah coming today......so excited that my Tres Chic background is on it's way to me!!!! It's amazing how the little things in life can make us so excited, huh?

I will try to stamp today.....can't guarantee it though!!! I will definitely post a new creation tomorrow though. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you get to stamp today!!!

Happy Stamping Everyone!!!!

What's a Votive Boat?

Okay, so you read my last post, and you're asking yourself "What in the heck is a Votive Boat?". So rather than leave you to your own imagination, I decided to post a picture of the votive boat we will be making during this Sunday's "Fabulous Fall" Stamp Camp.

There are two pictures of this event.....the first is when the candle is unlit.....the 2nd is when the candle is lit (picture is not so great....I apologize).

I hope you can join me for Stamp Camp now that I have your interest piqued. Happy Stamping Everyone!!!

Happy Monday Morning!!!

Happy Monday!!! I don't have any projects to show this morning. I have BIG plans to stamp later on this afternoon. As always, the weekend just flew by. Most of it was spent staining and poly-ing all of our new windows. My fingers ache. My nail girl is gonna fly into a hissy fit when she sees what my acrylics look like. Good thing I don't understand vietnamese. I might get offended as she starts yelling at me....LOL!!!

I have a very busy week. I have a workshop to prepare for on Friday. Hi Marlene.....can't wait!!!! I also have my "Fabulous Fall" stamp camp on Sunday. If you are in the Chaska, MN area and want to make some FABULOUS projects, send me an email. There is a link to my email a little below my picture. I would love to have you attend my class. The fee for the class is $20!!!!

Life gets busy this week......dance kicks in to high gear, school curriculum nights, etc..... It's amazing how lazy we get over the summer.....just hanging by the pool, staying up late, sleeping in. THEN, all of a sudden, Labor Day hits and R-E-A-L-I-T-Y sets in......alarm clocks set for a number that starts with 6, homework, busy evening schedules.....UGH!!!

Well, I promise to stamp something today. I will upload one of the projects later. I'll make it a really good one, okay? I have some new goodies coming tomorrow.....yeah!!! I can't wait to play with some NEW rubbah!!! I also have a few personal cards to make this week. My nephew turns 7 this week. Unbelievable!!! Happy Birthday kiddo!!! Aunt Patti loves you a TON!!!

I hope everyone takes some time out of the craziness of September life to stamp a project today.

Happy Stamping everyone!!!!

Autumn, Sweet, Autumn

We had some storms come through last night that significantly brought down the temperature and humidity. It is such a beautiful day today. I didn't get any stamping done today. DH asked me if I wanted to accompany him to the main office to pick up some packages. He then took me to Cheesecake Factory for lunch. YUM-O!!! I got Pasta DaVinci (lunch portion) and DH got Thai Chicken Pasta. We only ate half, boxed up the leftovers and shared some Raspberry Chocolate Truffle cheesecake. Let me tell you, it was amazing!!!

I made this card yesterday. I've had the "With Gratitude" stamp set since the beginning of July. It's taken me a while to be inspired enough to make a card with it. I really like the way it turned out. There are a lot of layers in this card. I hate to think how much this sucker will cost to mail to someone!!! LOL!!!

The basecard is Chocolate Chip followed by Ruby Red, Very Vanilla (stamped with Flannel Plaid and smaller leaves in Creamy Caramel and Close to Cocoa), Close to Cocoa). The main image is stamped on Very Vanilla with a spectrum pad. The colors were still to bright so I overstamped with the Linen background stamp in Creamy Caramel. I then sponged with Close to Cocoa to make it look even more vintage. This image is then mounted on Old Olive with the photo corners in Pumpkin Pie and sponged once again with the Close to Cocoa. The sentiment is stamped on More Mustard and punched out with the small oval punch. This is also sponged, and I added some line work for added appeal. I added some mustard grosgrain and brads for the final touch.

I hope you find some time to stamp today. Remember, some "me" time is always good for the soul!!!

Happy Stamping Everyone!!!

Technique Class!!

This past Friday I held my first ever Technique Class. Due to the holiday, I only had two ladies in my class, but we had fun. Hopefully, this month will work out better for the rest of my ladies.

Anyway, we focused on two techniques: Shaving Cream and Kissing. We made a reminder card for each of these techniques and then incorporated both of them into a card. This birthday card is the project we made that night.

I love the bright colors on this card. Tempting Turquoise and Green Galore perfectly compliment each other. This adorable cupcake comes from "Big Bold Birthday". There are just so many possibilities on how to make the frosting. In this card, the frosting stamp was "kissed" to my Paisley background stamp. It looks so yummy and swirly.

For the final touches, I added some penwork using my white Signo gel pen and some tabs using my Word Window punch. The tabs are embellished with some Green Galore brads to give it some "ooomph".

On a personal note, the kids had a GREAT first day of school. They were happy to see their friends. They both came home with Geometry homework......not too bad though!!! Amanda is excited about Spanish. She had three phrases she needed to memorize for today. I guess they need to ask to go to the bathroom in Spanish if the urge arises!!!

Happy Stamping everyone!

It's Never Too Early!!!

Whether you buy your gifts early to make it easier on the pocketbook to stamping a few holiday cards each week, it's never too early to start thinking about the holidays. I really think gift giving became a bit easier (especially with teenagers in the house) when that brilliant person invented the "gift card".

Today's project is a gift card holder using the brand new "Season of Joy" stamp set from the Holiday Mini catalog. The base card is 4.25" x 6" (which is then folded in half to make the card). I stuck with the Earth Elements family for this card (Ruby Red, Old Olive, More Mustard and Creamy Caramel for all the sponging).

I used my Word Window punch to create the slot to hold the gift card. You will need to punch more than one time to make it the length required to fit a gift card.

Here's all the "deets" about the card:

stamp sets: Season of Joy, Linen
paper: Ruby Red, Old Olive, More Mustard, Very Vanilla
ink: Ruby Red, Old Olive, Creamy Caramel (for sponging)
accessories: Word Window punch, Old Olive Marker, dimensionals, Earth Element buttons, Artichoke ribbon

Happy Stamping everyone!!!

The Kids are Off to School!!!

I can't believe the summer is over!!! My kids start school today. Amanda had full intentions of getting up at 5:30am to start getting ready. She must've slammed that "alarm off" button pretty darn quick because her sorry butt didn't get out of bed until I told her it was 5:51am. She was done early so she definitely does not need to set her alarm that early. Christopher got up on his own, and as usual, he was ready way before he needed to be.

It's very weird to be child-less again. I have to run some errands, but I definitely have some stamping time planned today!!! I am still recovering from last night's Foreigner/Styx/Def Leppard concert.

Foreigner was amazing. They are really the reason I went to this concert in the first place. The new lead singer (replaced Lou Graham) looked and moved like Steve Tyler from Aerosmith, but he sounded just like Lou Graham. They were incredible....did not disappoint.

Styx sounded great too. I was never a huge Styx follower so I couldn't sing along constantly like I did with Foreigner. I knew the choruses and some of the more famous songs. I kept cracking up through this concert because the keyboardist acted just like Austin Powers. His keyboard could spin and he would play and gyrate when the keyboard was behind him. He is very talented, but he is also quite stuck in the 70's/80's.

Def Leppard was another matter. The playing of the music was fantastic. The new lead guitarist (previously played for Dio and Whitesnake) was phenomenal. Joe Elliot, the singer, was TERRIBLE. All those years of drug and alcohol abuse have taken a toll on his voice and body. You could hardly hear him. He often made the audience sing the choruses because his voice couldn't hold out. During some of the songs ("Animal", for example), we couldn't figure out what song it was until he sang the chorus. Yes, it was that bad. Several years ago, my brother told me he was lip-synching during his tours. Towards the middle of the concert, there were many of us that were hoping they would "flip the switch" to put us out of our misery. Oh well, enough about my concert experience last night. Overall, it was a great time. I was glad to spend time with my husband and my brother. The three of us haven't been to a concert together in a LONG time!!!

Like I said, I will try to post one of my creations later on. I have a bunch of errands to run today!!!!

Happy Stamping everyone!!!

Outside My Comfort Zone!!!

Okay, honestly, what do you think of this card? I can't decide if I really hate it or not. My husband loves this card. It is SO different than my usual stamping style. I know that I need to break out of my comfort zone, and this card definitely did it. Argh!!!!

The colors from this card came from last week's Color Challenge on splitcoast. The colors are Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate and Old Olive. I used my sponge daubers to apply the ink to the flowers. This allows for the blending of the two colors.

Well, I am hoping to stamp some more tomorrow. It's the kids' first day of school. DH and I are heading to the Def Leppard, Styx and Foreigner concert tonight at the MN state fair. Yeah!!!!

Happy Labor Day everyone!!!!

stamp sets: Fabulous Flowers, Linen, Print Pattern
paper: Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate
ink: Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate
accessories: sponge daubers, ticket corner punch, five petal flower punch, photo corner punch, old olive brads, sponges

Patterned Paper!!!

Okay, I am starting to get the hang of this patterned paper thing. I think I really like using all this patterned paper. Uh oh!!! I see a new "trend" in my stamping style emerging. LOL!!!

I already told you how much I love this stamp set: Autumn Harvest (so you won't hear me boast about it again). It's just so darned easy to color in!!!

I once again used my watercolor wonder crayons and my aquapainted to color in my pumpkins. I used More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie and Really Rust to build the colors. The leaves are More Mustard, Old Olive, Ruby Red and Bravo Burgandy. All of the watercoloring is done on watercolor paper.

I did a lot of sponging on this card with Close to Cocoa. I toned down the edges of all the layers and also on the River Rock double stitched grosgrain ribbon. It's now just the right color for this card!!!

I love the final result.....I hope you do too!!! Leave a comment if you do......I could really use the boost of confidence today!!!

Happy stamping!!