Let the Decorating Begin!

Just a quick post today to share with you some fall decorating items that I put out this weekend. I know I mentioned in this post that I had started decorating, but I really didn't get that far. But...now that we are on the verge of October, I felt the need to step it up!

You know what really got me going? We decided to do a little painting in my house this weekend. We added a little accent color here and there, and it turned out great! We picked a bold, yet very warm color called Gingerbread Man and it's from the Martha Stewart paint collection at Lowe's. That Martha, she knows what she's doing. The color is a nutmeg-y, orange-y brown color. Hmmm...looks better than I can describe it (you can see it above, in both photos). Anyway, we love it and it just so happens to go great with the new decorations that I had to buy to pull it all together. A girl has got to accessorize, after all. So, what kind of decorating will you do for the Fall season?

P.S. The wreath...it's from the floral department of my local grocery store! And it was on sale! Score!

One Crazy Cat

I made this little altered wood frame this weekend to add to my Halloween decor. I thought this frame would be a great little touch, especially since it's one of my favorite Halloween photos of my daughter.

This project started as a plain wood frame I bought super cheap at Michaels (I think you can get them on sale for $1.00!). I covered the frame with patterned paper using my Ultimate Glue and a paint brush. You can use Mod Podge if you like, but I prefer the Ultimate Glue to anything else when it comes to altering or covering other items. I cut most of the excess paper off around the frame and sanded the edges to give it a clean look. I used a craft knife to cut out the center square and sanded the edges, too. That's the great thing about this project, if you don't cut your paper perfectly, you just sand off the excess and it looks great! For embellishing, I stamped spiders, spider webs and some flourishes around the edges. I painted all the exposed wood edges with black acrylic paint. I also lightly dry brushed the black paint around the edges and a bit on the frame itself. I wanted it to be distressed and Halloween-y! The final touch was some ribbon, a little tag and a super cute spider charm from my stash. I've had that thing forever and now it's put to good use (see, don't throw anything out!).

By the way, I'm lovin' that copper eyelash ribbon! I can guarantee you'll see it again!

P.S. Thanks for all the great comments on my snowman ornament (see below). I guess it was a big hit...who knew? And I will definetely be putting up a tutorial on my blog...I just need to buy more supplies! So stay tuned!

Stamps: Spooky Sweets II by PTI, Swirls v. 1 by Autumn Leaves
Ink: Basic Black by SU!, Dune pigment by Colorbox
Cardstock: Very Vanilla by SU!
Patterned Paper: Haunted: Ominous by Cosmo Cricket, Burnt Orange Dot by Bo Bunny
Ribbon: copper metallic eyelash, black and white dot and brown sheer (Michaels)
Tools: Cuttlebug by ProvoCraft, Tiny Tags die for Cuttlebug
Other: foam mounting tape by 3M, spider charm, black acrylic paint, wood frame, sanding block, Ultimate Glue, paint brush

Papertrey Ink September Blog Hop

ETA: Click here to view the tutorial for this cute snowman!

I can't believe it's Blog Hop time already! And this month we had the fun challenge of creating a holiday inspired project. It was great fun to work on this one...I even had the Christmas music goin' in the background! And when it was all said and done, I realized that my little project is really three gifts in one!

Once I got my hands on my new Made of Snow stamp set from Papertrey Ink, it was full steam ahead for a snowman Christmas project! I absolutely love snowmen, and each year I try to create a new version of a snowman ornament or gift for friends and family. This snowman is made out of a Styrofoam ball that is covered in white Model Magic by Crayola. Once dry, I painted the carrot nose, added two dots for eyes and a little chalk blush for his cheeks. A round paperclip from my stash was inserted into the top of the Styrofoam ball. I stamped some Pure Poppy satin ribbon with "Let it Snow" and tied it onto the paperclip for a hanger. I'm pretty sure you'll be seeing this little snowman again in a future tutorial on my blog!

Now for something to put him in! I had a four inch square clear box in my collection that worked out just perfectly. I randomly stamped it with three different snowflakes from the Rustic Snowflakes stamp set from PTI. And to think I almost passed on this set! I absolutely just love it! I used white StazOn ink for the snowflakes and used Glossy Accents by Ranger to add a bit of dimension. I love the way it gave the box a snowy, icy look! In going with that theme, I made some clear shreds for inside my box by cutting strips of scrap transparency left over from a previous project. A fun, unexpected touch.

To finish it all off, I tied some gorgeous red and olive green iridescent ribbon around the box and tied a little bow. I made a large tag from a chipboard snowflake covered in Basic Grey paper. I embellished it by adding a tag stamped with "Let it Snow" and tucked in a little snowman I created using the Made of Snow set. I punched a hole at the top of the snowflake, added a white eyelet and tied it onto the ribbon with some fun metallic eyelash ribbon. Some Stickles and Stardust gave it snowy sparkle. And guess what? The snowflake tag would make a great addition to someone's tree, too!

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek at my project. Can't wait to see what others have done with this fun holiday challenge!

Snowman Ornament

Stamps: Rustic Snowflakes by PTI
Ink: New Canvas Palette by PTI
Ribbon: Pure Poppy satin by PTI
Other: White Model Magic clay by Crayola, Styrofoam ball, black and burnt orange acrylic paint, round paperclip


Snowflake Box

Stamps: Rustic Snowflakes by PTI
Ink: White StazOn
Ribbon: Olive green and Red iridescent (WalMart)
Other: clear box, Glossy Accents by Ranger, transparency


Snowflake Tag

Stamps: Rustic Snowflakes, Made of Snow by PTI
Ink: Dark Chocolate and Pure Poppy by PTI, Dune pigment, Olive chalk and Cranberry pigment by ColorBox, Basic Black by SU!
Cardstock: SS White by PTI
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey
Ribbon: green metallic eyelash
Tools: Cuttlebug by ProvoCraft, double-ended tag Nestabilities by Spellbinders, Crop-a-Dile
Other: foam mounting tape by 3M, chipboard snowflake by SU!, white eyelet, antique gold brads, Diamond Stickles by Ranger, Stardust pen by Sakura, Koh-I-Noor woodless colour pencils

How I (Should Have) Spent My Summer

This is a little mini album I made to record my daughter's first year of Preschool. Now that she's just started her second year, I realize I should have finished this a long time ago!

For the title of the book, I created my own notebook paper on my computer, printed it out and used a spiral punch from Stampin' Up! to finish it off. Recognize that pencil on the cover? This is actually the first one I created, which is how I knew it would work so well for this project!

Since my plan is to (eventually) scrapbook many of her school events and happenings, I just wanted to put together a small book to jot down a brief summary of what happened in her class each month. I don't have many pictures from throughout the year, so I scanned some of her artwork and will include that in the book, too. Here are a few pages still in progress:

Each month's "summary" is more notebook paper that I printed out the month and year on and used the spiral punch along the side. I hand wrote in a few notes on the month's events.

Now I just need to get this book done and start in on some of her scrapbook pages. I've scrapped the ultrasound photos and baby shower, that's good progress...right?!? All that's left is to whip out the last four years...before she gets to college!

A Quick Thank You

Tonight I needed a quick thank you gift to take to work in the morning and, of course, I waited until the last minute. So, when in a hurry...stick with what you know! The gift, presentation, and gift card holder are all things I've done in the past. That's what made this super quick and easy to put together.

The mug I picked up at Target for a mere $3.50 on clearance (love Target - I'm there at least once a week!). The rich bronze/brown color is perfect for the Fall season. I stuffed some shreds into the mug and added some chocolates (even they have Fall colored wrappers!). Next, I stamped a little tag using my First Fruits set from PTI.

Next up was to make a gift card holder. I hadn't really planned on doing that, but when I ran into Starbucks to purchase the gift card, all they had for holders were summer themed ones. Well, that's not going to work! So I made a holder that I've made a few times before, following directions from the super talented Heather Nichols. You can see how to make it here. It's quick and easy, and really cute. I randomly stamped the cover with a leaf stamp from First Fruits and added some ribbon. I then stamped and layered the acorn, just like I did on this project (if it's not broke, don't fix it!). I then adhered it with foam mounting tape. Here is what the holder looks like inside when you untie it:

Okay, so now that's done, I can go to bed! Whew...another fast stamp project...and no one got hurt!

Stamps: First Fruits by PTI
Ink: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip and Creamy Caramel by SU!, Dark Chocolate by PTI, Copper pigment by ColorBox
Cardstock: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla by SU!
Tools: tag punch by Marvy, circle punch by Punch Bunch, circle punch by Marvy, scallop punch by SU!
Other: foam mounting tape by 3M, stitched ribbon (Michaels), bronze eyelet, Crop-a-Dile, mug (Michaels), candy

Witch's Brew

My friend, and quite possibly my biggest fan, Hollie, encouraged me to post this Halloween recipe layout. A few years ago the two of us were involved in a 6x6 scrapbook recipe exchange with a few of our co-workers. She told me the other day that this was one of her favorite layouts from our exchange. And since it is getting to be that time of year, I thought I'd go ahead and share it.

Does that hat seem familiar? Probably, since I made it here and here. To make the title I used a set called Collage Alphabet from Stampin' Up! It's a great set to use for Halloween cards and projects, but it's also just a really fun, unexpected font choice to use on any project. The haunted house is from another SU! set called Home Is Where the Haunt Is. I wrinkled and inked the paper after I stamped my image. I did the same thing to the title, to give it more of an aged, creepy look. This is another great set that I may have to get out again soon.

One of my favorite things about this recipe is that this layout contains two versions of Witch's Brew. One is quite eatable (just a punch recipe using orange soda and sherbet) and the other is a less delectable version I found on the Internet ("Eye of newt, toe of frog..."). Kinda fun, and slightly unexpected I think. So, there you go, Hollie. This one was just for you! Say, did you ever make this recipe? I hear eye of newt is hard to come by these days.

Stamps: Home Is Where The Haunt Is, Print Pattern and Collage Alphabet by SU!, Elegant Swirl Pattern by PrintWorks
Ink: White pigment by ColorBox, Distress Ink by Ranger, Dune pigment by Colorbox, Pumpkin Pie by SU!
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla and Black by SU!
Patterned Paper: Wild Asparagus
Other: foam mounting tape by 3M

Autumn Harvest

I'm feeling very inspired by Fall lately, as you can probably tell, and I wanted to delve a little deeper into my First Fruits sets. Especially this wheat stamp. I can honestly say that I've never owned or used a stamp like this. But it's very effective for an Autumn Harvest kind of card.

I used my rectangle classic and scallop Nestabilities to make the main image on this card. I stamped my wheat after inking it in a few colors: Canary, Creamy Caramel, Dark Chocolate. I've recently discovered KaiserCraft and I love their paper! (I just bought some paper from this collection for Christmas projects!) But on this card, I used their stripes. The final touch was to add some ribbon, a little tag and an old button that I had in my stash.

So, I've got to warn you now. Although I've been inspired by Fall, I just received new Christmas and winter stamps from Papertrey Ink! Yes, that's right...Christmas cards are in my near future!

Stamps: First Fruits by PTI
Ink: Canary pigment by Colorbox, Dark Chocolate by PTI, Creamy Caramel by SU!
Cardstock: Cranberry Crisp, Very Vanilla and Barely Banana by SU!
Patterned Paper: Elizabeth/Elegance by KaiserCraft, Souvenir/Sojourn by Cosmo Cricket
Tools: Cuttlebug by ProvoCraft, rectangle classic and scallop Nestabilities by Spellbinders, tiny tag die for Cuttlebug
Other: Dark Chocolate satin ribbon by PTI, button, and crochet thread

Little Pumpkin

I've decided to have a go at Beate's Be Inspired Challenge #23. This is my first time trying one of her challenges, but I've seen so many others do it, I thought I'd join in! A few things in this photo inspired my card. I loved the orange flowers hanging down in the corner of the photo...a great little bit of color against the white background. I also picked up on the green and brown, and the circle shape. So, with that in mind, I created this card:

The stripes were also inspired by the photo. I stamped my branches in the corner and added Orange Peel Stickles for some sparkle. The pumpkin was stamped and layered with Spring Moss and Dark Chocolate. I added some sparkle to the pumpkin with the Stardust pen, although it is hard to see in the photo. I love the sentiment for this card - perfect to give to Grandma (of course, the other grandchildren might not appreciate it...LOL).

Stamps: Spooky Sweets by PTI, Stem Silhouettes by SU!
Ink: Dark Chocolate by PTI, Certain Celery, Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Pie by SU!
Cardstock: SS White, Spring Moss, Dark Chocolate by PTI, Pumpkin Pie by SU!
Patterned Paper: Yellow Orange Stripes by Scenic Route Paper Co.
Tools: circle punch by EK Success, circle and scallop punch by Marvy
Other: Stardust pen by Sakura, Orange Peel Stickles by Ranger, foam mounting tape by 3M

Autumn Inspiration

Tonight I'm playing along with Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration #23. The colors this time around inspired me to create an autumn card (surprise, surprise!):

This was a quick card, as I had little time tonight. I used my Autumn Fest stamp set from SU! for the leaf image. I simply inked a few colors onto the stamp to attempt a realistic Fall leaf look. I don't have Bravo Burgundy ink, so I improvised with Cranberry Crisp. I added a bit of Chocolate Chip to the edges to deepen the Cranberry, for more of a Burgundy effect. My Nestabilities came in handy again, as I used them for the main image and to create a scallop frame. After cutting the Very Vanilla cardstock for the leaf image, I kept the die in place to act as a stencil while I stippled some color around the image. I like how it softened the whole look and brought in more of the orange and cranberry colors. I embossed a So Saffron band for the card with my textile embossing folder and Cuttlebug. Some pretty chocolate brown ribbons and a little tag are the finishing touches.

So, have you started any of your Fall projects yet?

Supplies:

Stamps: Autumn Fest by SU!, First Fruits by PTI
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Cranberry Crisp, and Chocolate Chip by SU!
Cardstock: So Saffron, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla by SU!
Ribbon: brown satin, brown sheer (Michaels)
Tools: corner rounder by EK Success, Cuttlebug by ProvoCraft, stencil brush
Other: textile embossing folder and tiny tag die for Cuttlebug

And We Have a Winner...

And lucky post number 15 belongs to...

Tricia said...
Congratulations on 10,000, Jennifer! I love your work! We are celebrating the release of my son's first full length CD!

Congratulations, Tricia! And congrats to your son for such an accomplishment! Please email me with your mailing address and I'll get your stamps right out to you!

Thanks, everyone, for your comments and for sharing your upcoming celebrations! Have fun!

Open...If You Dare!

Here's my second project for Papertrey Ink's Guest Star Stamper. Unfortunately, neither one of my projects won, but I sure had fun making them! And this little treat coffin would be great to give to any little goblin...wait until you see what's inside (insert creepy laugh here)!


I found the coffin template online here, on Split Coast Stampers. I printed it out onto my Kraft cardstock, which was a perfect color and weight for this project. I wanted to make the coffin look as realistic as possible, so I cut out a second top out of Kraft, and cut it into three strips for "boards" on the coffin. I inked the heck out of the edges and dragged a stiff brush across the top using Dark Chocolate and black ink to add some wood-like texture . I added some pewter brads to mimic nails in the coffin. To finish the top, I stamped the 10-31 spider and make a little tag from my double-ended Nestabilities die. Jute twine was used to tie it on, but it easily slips off to reveal this inside...



Eeek! Love that chipped orange fingernail...yuck!

I used the template again to make two black pieces to cover the inside of the coffin. I simply stamped the witch, sentiment and spiderwebs with New Canvas and added a little warning inside...Eat at your own risk (another creepy laugh here!). The finger itself I made from a candy mold and candy melts. They can be found in the cake decorating isle of your local craft store. This was a fun project - I will definitely need to make more of these fingers, with our without the coffin!

P.S. Still some time to enter for my blog candy here. You have until 9:00 p.m. (PST) today!








Stamps: Spooky Sweets II by PTI
Ink: Dark Chocolate and New Canvas by PTI, Dune pigment by ColorBox, Black StazOn
Cardstock: Kraft by PTI, black
Other: jute twine, pewter brads

Grateful For Family

This month I made two projects for Papertrey Ink's Guest Star Stamper contest. This is the first one - a mini album with a Thanksgiving and Fall theme of Gratitude. This project utilizes my First Fruits set from PTI.

I made the pages of the album using both the rectangle classic and scallop Nestabilities dies. Just a note here about the front and back cover. I wanted them to be very sturdy, so I layered a Very Vanilla scalloped rectangle on top, thin chipboard in the middle, then another Vanilla scalloped rectangle on the bottom. The dies won't cut through thick chipboard, so I used a thin chipboard and essentially covered it with the other two Vanilla layers.

On the Kraft layer for the cover, I added some subtle shading. After embossing the rectangle, I kept the die in place (acting as a stencil), and used a stiff brush to stipple some Dark Chocolate ink around the edges. I embellished the cover by layering two pieces of ribbon together and tying a knot around the Kraft layer before adhering. I stamped the first two words of the title, "Grateful for" on the cover. I then made a medallion with the acorn stamp. I stamped the last word of the title, "family" right onto the acorn. The detail on the acorn top was highlighted with my Stardust pen and two bronze brads were added for a little more detail. I adhered the medallion just slightly off the cover.

Now for the inside! To give this album even more of a Fall theme, I used photos from last year's trip to the pumpkin patch. Since this was a project for the contest, I wanted to utilize the stamps as much as possible. I researched quotes online that contained words from the First Fruits set (grateful, gratitude, plentiful, harvest, thankful, etc.). I typed the quotes using Microsoft Word, omitting the words that I would stamp from the set. I printed them out onto Very Vanilla cardstock and embellished the pages with more stamps, giving each page a little more of a autumn touch. The inside then looked like this, alternating photo with quote:

The rectangle classic Nestabilities die was used to cut out the photos and the quotes. To do that, I simply re sized the photos on my computer to just slightly larger than the die. That way, I wouldn't accidentally crop anything out. I used a little Scotch tape to keep the die in place as I ran it through my Cuttlebug. And the same idea was used with the quotes. I sized the text box in Microsoft Word to be just slightly larger than the die. I centered the text to make sure it would all be contained inside the box and not cropped out when cut.

To finish it off, I used my Crop-a-Dile to punch a hole in the upper left hand corner of each page and added the bronze eyelet to the front and back cover (always looks more finished that way). I used a binder ring to hold it all together. I'm very happy about the way this turned out and I think I'll give this one to my Mom and make another one for me! Then there's my Mother-in-Law, my sister, and...


P.S. There's still time to enter to win my blog candy! Leave a comment on this post. Also, make sure to check back tomorrow when I'll have the second Guest Star Stamper project posted. It's delightfully creepy...








Stamps: First Fruits by PTI
Ink: Dark Chocolate by PTI, Dune, Canary and Bronze pigment by ColorBox, Creamy Caramel, Cranberry Crisp and Old Olive by SU!
Cardstock: Kraft by PTI, Very Vanilla and Old Olive by SU!
Ribbon: Dark Chocolate satin by PTI, brown sheer (Michaels)
Tools: Crop-a-Dile, rectangle classic and scallop Nestabilities dies by Spellbinders, Cuttlebug by ProvoCraft, scallop and circle punches by SU!
Other: thin chipboard, bronze eyelet, bronze brads, foam mounting tape by 3M, Stardust pen by Sakura, binder ring