Lovely as a Tree Outside a Window

Posted on October 20, 2017 by Linda Tolson Yarbrough

Today’s card project became something all together different than what was floating around inside my head most of the day.  My original plan was a card with Christmas stockings but as you can see that is not what I ended up with.

Do you recognize the stamp set that I used to create the trees?  If you are familiar with Stampin’ Up! you should.  It has been the longest running stamp set in the Stampin’ Up! catalog, at lease since 2001 according to the copyright stickers on my wood blocks – Lovely as a Tree.

I cut two window frames from the Hearth & Home Framelits and attached them end to end (I cut off the flare on both sides/ends where they overlap).  I stamped the trees on a piece of Whisper White cardstock and then used sponge daubers to color the ground (Crumb Cake and Garden Green) and the sky (Marina Mist and Night of Navy).  The stamped image is attached to the back of the window frames and then attached to card front with dimensionals.

The holly leaf garland is made with 6-7 of the images from the Musical Season stamp set.  I cut off the bottom stem on all of the pieces and started in each corner working towards the center attaching with mini glue dots.

Here are the Stampin’ Up! products that I used in the design of this card, all of which can quickly be added to your shopping cart by clicking on the thumbnails below:

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you leave here inspired to put stamps to ink to paper.  Until next time, stamp on my friends.

Linda

Posted in Cards, Christmas, Holiday Catalog | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Rustic Christmas Pines

Posted on October 19, 2017 by Linda Tolson Yarbrough

I wanted to try a rustic Christmas card for today’s project.  In order to accomplish this look, I had to restrain my tendencies to use lots of glitter and bling on my projects and keep the design S-I-M-P-L-E.  I think I was successful in my mission, but will let you be the judge.

I love how easy the Wood Textures Designer Series Paper gives my projects a rustic look.  I used two different shades and designs of this paper on the front of today’s card, and used the same paper that outlines the borders to create the snowflake star.

I stamped images from the Christmas Pines stamp set directly onto the designer series paper, first tapping my stamp on my VersaMark pad and then the appropriate colored pad for the frame, sentiment and pine leaves.  I then quickly sprinkled the stamped areas with clear embossing powder and heated to set.  (I stamped and embossed each image separately to prevent ink from drying and to avoid smearing.)  This allows you to have embossing in every color for which you have an ink pad (you’re welcome!).  Just be sure that you clean your stamps before reapplying the VersaMark so you do not ruin your pad.

The mistletoe bundle and ribbon in top left corner were cut using the Pretty Pines Thinlits dies that coordinate with the Christmas Pines stamp set.  The snowflake star with cut using the Starlight Thinlits dies.

Here are the Stampin’ Up! products that I used in the design of this card, all of which can quickly be added to your shopping cart by clicking on the thumbnails below:

 

If you have any questions regarding any of the other design elements of this card, do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you leave here inspired to put stamps to ink to paper.  Until next time, stamp on my friends.

Linda

Posted in Big Shot, Cards, Christmas, Photopolymer Stamps | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Star of Light Starlight & A Special Announcement

Posted on October 18, 2017 by Linda Tolson Yarbrough

Greetings to all my stamping friends.  I enjoyed my first play with the Star of Light stamp set yesterday so I selected this stamp set and the coordinating dies Starlight Thinlits for today’s project.  For a change of pace I elected to use the Merry Music Specialty Designer Series Paper for my background and used the black side rather than the white side.  Well here is how my card turned out:

Now I was fairly confident that my star made using the Gold Foil paper and the Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper would be an “original”.  But since great minds tend to think alike, a fellow demonstrator posted a card today that had a star just like the one on my card; however, the background was Basic Black cardstock and she used the snow swirl stamp that I used in yesterday’s card heat embossed in Gold Stampin’ Embossing Powder behind the star (no ribbon or DSP was included on Jackie’s card).

The steps for making this card are pretty easy.  Unless noted otherwise, all of my cards are standard 5.50″ x 4.25″ when closed on the fold.

The Merry Music DSP is cut at 4.00″ x 5.25″ and the Gold Foil mat is cut 1/8″ larger on each side (if you have the Stampin’ Trimmer, it would be the second little line after the 4.00″ mark and the 5.25″ mark).  These two pieces are adhered together with Fast Fuse.

The small strip of Year of Cheer DSP is 4.00″ x .75(ish)”; the Gold Foil mat is 1/8 longer and 1.00″ wide.  The pieces are adhered together with Fast Fuse.  This small piece is attached to the black piece with dimensionals.  I wrapped a piece of the ribbon around to the back and attached with fast fuse.  I then took a separate piece of ribbon and pulled it through the ribbon on the front and tied a bow.  I used a glue dot to keep the ribbon in place on the strip of paper near the bow.  (You could also tie a bow and attach the bow to the front with a glue dot; however, I don’t like the look – I like it to at least look like I tied the bow in one piece and pulling the ribbon through and the resulting gathering gives me the look I want.)

The two pieces of the star are attached using liquid glue.  The star is then attached to the front of the card with dimensionals.

The sentiment is stamped with VersaMark ink that was then sprinkled with Gold embossing power and then heated until set.  I used the second oval die from the Stitched Shapes Framelits to cut it out.  The gold star is an embellishment from the Year of Cheer suite.  It has a loop on one end so you can hang it on a ribbon (or make jewelry with it!).  I removed the loop with my Crop-o-dile that I keep handy for heavy duty jobs.  If you don’t have one of these, then a wire cutting tool would be needed.  The sentiment is attached to the front with dimensionals and the embellishment is attached with mini glue dots.

Lastly, the completely assembled piece is attached to a base of thick Whisper White cardstock with dimensionals.

Here are the Stampin’ Up! products that I used in the design of my card, all of which can quickly be added to your shopping cart by clicking on the thumbnails below:

I think I have covered all of the steps in the design of this card; however, if there is anything that I may have missed or is not clear, do not hesitate to contact me.

STAMPIN’ BLENDS CUSTOMER RELEASE – ANNOUNCED:

Say hello to a new world of colorful creativity!  Meet Stampin’ Blends, artist-quality alcohol markers in 12 exclusive Stampin’ Up! colors.  To cover all the blending bases, we’re also offering a limited-time 16-card project kit and stamp set with beautiful line-art images.

  • Customer Launch Date:  November 1, 2017!
  • All items available on any order type.
  • Stampin’ Blends will be available in upcoming catalogs.
  • Prices are guaranteed through May 31, 2018.
  • The Color Me Happy Project Kit will be available while supplies last. In conjunction with the kit, the Color Me Happy Stamp Set will be available as long as kit supplies last.
  • There is no minimum order required.
  • New demonstrators can choose Stampin’ Blends as part of their Starter Kit.

Stampin’ Blends’ Features:

  • Add just the right amount of color where you need it with the brush tip or fine-point.
  • Each color (except Ivory and Bronze) has a light and dark shade marker, available individually or in a combo pack.
  • Press fit seal prevents air from entering the barrel and causing evaporation.
  • The nestable lids are easy to keep track of and have a tight fit for long-lasting color.

I will post a link to the product brochure which will appear in the right margin of my blog along with the other catalogs.  In the meantime, if I can be of any assistance or answer any questions you may have, please ask.

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you leave here inspired to put stamps to ink to paper.  Until next time, stamp on my friends.

Linda

Posted in Cards, Christmas, Holiday Catalog, New Arrivals | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Star of Light Meets Hometown Greetings

Posted on October 17, 2017 by Linda Tolson Yarbrough

I found my inspiration for today’s project while browsing one of the demonstrator share sites on Facebook today.  There was this “WOW” card posted by a demonstrator named Michelle Zindorf.  As I tend to do, I modified my card from Michelle’s.  Her card included a moon and Santa’s sleigh with reindeer flying through the night sky, just one house and three pine trees which all appeared to be stamped directly onto the card in black ink, and her greeting was stamped down in the snowbank in what looks like black ink (I didn’t want to purchase the tutorial to get all the fine details!).  Here is my modified version:

The background is another emboss resist sponging background.  I stamped the snow swirl from the Star of Light stamp set in VersaMark four times and coated with clear embossing powder, set with heat tool and then sponged with Night of Navy and Marina Mist inks.  I wiped off the excess ink from the embossed areas.  I reapplied the darker ink in places to add depth where needed.

The house, church and trees are cut with the dies from the Hometown Greetings Edgelits.  I cut the trees in both Early Espresso and Old Olive, then cut the stumps off the Old Olive trees and adhered them to the front of the Early Espresso trees.  I cut the house and church in both Early Espresso and Whisper White and used the roof from the Whisper White house to represent snow and used the punched out pieces to fill in the cut-outs around the door and eaves.  I used Gold Foil paper to represent lights for both the house and the church.  All of these pieces are attached to the card with dimensionals.

The sentiment is stamped in Night of Navy ink and is cut using the second oval in the Stitched Shapes Framelits dies and is attached to the card with dimensionals.

Here are the Stampin’ Up! products that I used in the design of this card, all of which can quickly be added to your shopping cart by clicking on the thumbnails below:

If you have any questions about any other design elements of this card, do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you leave here inspired to put stamps to ink to paper.  Until next time, stamp on my friends.

Linda

Posted in Cards, Christmas, Holiday Catalog | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Snowflake Sentiments and a Cable Knit Sweater

Posted on October 16, 2017 by Linda Tolson Yarbrough

I am happy to report that while my hand is a little painful at times, that I am still able to hold my stamp blocks and crank the handle on my Big Shot so all is good in my world.  (Yay!)

Today’s project was inspired by a post by Catherine Brown, a Canadian demonstrator, who I believe got her inspiration from Tami White, a U.S. demonstrator in Massachusetts.  Here is my version of her card:

I made some modifications from Catherine’s card — my ribbon is different (since the Silver Satin ribbon is retired here in the U.S.), I added rhinestones to the centers of my silver snowflakes, I attached my cable knit sweater piece with dimensionals v. gluing it down flat and I added a snowflake to the sentiment piece.

Here are the Stampin’ Up! products that I used in the design of this card, all of which can quickly be added to your shopping cart by clicking on the thumbnails below:

Tips & Tricks:

Measurements:  Night of Navy cardstock = 5.25″ x 2.75″; Vellum = 5.25″ x 2.50″, Silver Foil = 5.25″ x 2.00″; Very Vanilla for Cable Knit Sweater = 5.25″ x 4.00″

When cutting the ruffled pieces (Night of Navy and Vellum) I cut both pieces at the same time and used small pieces of washi tape to keep them from moving.  This way the scallops match up perfectly.

When cutting the snowflakes and the ruffled pieces the points of the dies need to be touching the very top edge of the card stock so that you only cut off the top edges and leave the bottom lengths.

The Night of Navy and Vellum pieces are glued together with liquid glue that has been sponged onto the back of the vellum.  You could also use mini glue dots.  The silver snowflakes are glued onto the top of the scalloped piece with liquid glue.  If you have adhesive sheets, you could apply to the Silver Foil paper before you cut with the die.

The ribbon is wrapped around to the back and attached with Fast Fuse.  I took a separate piece of ribbon and pulled it through the ribbon on front and tied a bow.  I used mini glue dots to keep the from ribbon and bow in place.

The scalloped piece is then attached to the Cable Knit Sweater piece with liquid glue.  Use a lot of glue due to the nooks and crannies of the embossed paper.  You will need to hold it until it sets.  I then attached the panel to the card base with dimensionals.

I think that covers everything that may give you trouble, but if I missed anything let me know.  I am here to help you on your creative journey.

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you leave here inspired to put stamps to ink to paper.  Until next time, stamp on my friends.

Linda

Posted in Big Shot, Bundles, Cards, Christmas, Holiday Catalog | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Happy Owl-oween from Spooky Cat

Posted on October 15, 2017 by Linda Tolson Yarbrough

Have you ever had one of those days where it seemed it would have been best if you had just stayed in bed with your head buried under the covers?  Well I think today was one of those days for me.

My day started about 4:30 AM – I couldn’t sleep and then I smelled something that indicated to me that my blind dog Rosie wasn’t able to get downstairs and out the doggie door quickly enough during the few hours I was actually asleep.  So there was that to deal with and afterwards I was not in the sleeping mood.

When I married my husband a little more than three years ago, I became a grandmother to Jayson who is 10 and about to turn 11.  He plays baseball and now football and of course he has both games on the same day.  Today’s games were at 10:45 AM and 1:30 PM, both in Frisco which is about 30-40 minutes from where we live depending on traffic.

Our usual routine is to stop at Einstein’s Bagels along the way for breakfast and Gary refills his large cup of joe to go.  We were about 10 minutes away from the baseball field when all of a sudden there was this blinding pain as a very hot liquid spilled all over my left leg.  Yes, you guessed it – as Gary was putting his coffee cup back down into the cup holder in the console it slipped out of his hand and flew into my lap – it was a full tall cup!  I soldiered on; sadly Jayson’s baseball team was defeated 14-7.  Also his football team was defeated 26-0.

So one would think that was enough for one day, but you would be wrong.  Our “puppy” Ella is sometimes more than I can manage on the leash and lately she has become very interested in hunting geckos and squirrels whenever we go out for our potty breaks.  This evening as I was preparing to take our three dogs out Ella lunged as I was opening the door causing me to smash my left hand / knuckles into the door.  I now have a couple of bloody knuckles, a very large bruise and a nice sized goose egg between my first and middle fingers.

So this very long explanation leads into today’s project.  I had extra pieces from yesterday’s card design (I had made extra just in case I messed up my first attempt) so I made some slight modifications to yesterday’s card design and came up with this:

It is supposed to appear as though the owl is wearing the sign around his neck.  Not sure I accomplished it though.  Instead of a leaf wreath in the upper right, I used the Patterned Pumpkins Thinlits dies and cut the pumpkin with the stars cutouts from vellum which is supposed to represent the moon.  Again, not sure I accomplished that look.

Here are the Stampin’ Up! products that I used in the design of this card, all of which can quickly be added to your shopping cart by clicking on the thumbnails below:

If you have any questions about any of the design elements of this card, do not hesitate to contact me.

I am not sure how much flexibility I will have in my hand tomorrow so if there is not a blog post, then you will know why.  Rest assured I will return to creating cards and other paper projects just as soon as possible.

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you leave here inspired to put stamps to ink to paper.  Until next time, stamp on my friends.

Linda

Posted in Cards, Halloween, Holiday Catalog, Techniques | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Give Thanks with Painted Harvest

Posted on October 14, 2017 by Linda Tolson Yarbrough

I wanted to sponge another background for today’s project and had a partial design running around inside my head which included the branch thinlit from the Seasonal Layers dies and leaves.

I have always worked out my designs in real life, using the products I plan on using for the finished project.  Some people sketch out their designs on a piece of paper, while some work up a mock card using retired products.  How do you come up with your projects?  Do you just wing it like I do or do you sketch it up or do a test run?

Admittedly not all of my projects come out as I had imagined them in my mind.  Just keep in mind that it’s just paper and there are two sides so if you make a mistake on one side, just flip it over and try again.  Fortunately today’s project turned out better than I imagined.

In addition to sponging my background, I dry embossed the background with the Layered Leaves Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  I cut the branch out three times from Wood Textures Designer Series Paper and attached them to the front using the Fine-Tip Glue Pen.  Note that I started in the bottom left corner and stacked them to make it appear that they are attached to a tree trunk just off the edge out of view.  I used the Leaf Punch and Copper Foil Sheets to create the leaves which I cut off from the stems and added veins using my scoring tool and the silicon mat.  The leaves are attached to the branches with mini glue dots.  The upper right corner was empty space and I felt it needed something for balance so I made a leaf wreath using a 1/2″ circle of cardstock as my form.  The sentiment is tucked under the leaves and has one dimensional at the top and the bottom to hold in place.  I made the ribbon and bow by cutting the 5/8″ Burlap Ribbon in half.  I added a few extra leaves at the bottom of the sentiment oval just above the bow.

Here are the Stampin’ Up! supplies that I used in the design of the card, all of which can quickly be added to your shopping cart by clicking on the thumbnails below:

If you have any questions about the card design outlined above, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you leave here inspired to put stamps to ink to paper.  Until next time, stamp on my friends.

Linda

Posted in Cards, Holiday Catalog, Techniques, Thanksgiving | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Crafting Forever … Creative Every Day

Posted on October 13, 2017 by Linda Tolson Yarbrough

Crafting Forever – sounds perfect, right?  That is the name of the stamp set I selected for today’s card project.  This stamp set has some sentiments that are perfect for my view on life these days, i.e. “CRAFTING FOREVER!  HOUSEWORK NEVER.”  (My husband could definitely vouch for that sentiment!)

This stamp set requires some artistic touches to finish out your project.  I colored my stamped images with the soon to be released Stampin’ Blends – Stampin’ Up!’s new artist-quality alcohol based markers being offered in 12 of our exclusive colors (Bermuda Bay, Calypso Coral, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight, Night of Navy, Old Olive, Pink Pirouette, Pool Party, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry and Smoky Slate, as well as Ivory, Bronze and a Color Lifter).

As a demonstrator I was able to get these as an early release (release period ends October 15).  The customer launch date is expected to take place before the end of the year.  Can’t wait until the customer launch date to get a set for yourself?  If you sign up to become a demonstrator before October 15 you can include the Stampin’ Blends as part of your starter kit!  Contact me for more information.

Here are the Stampin’ Up! products that I used in the design of this card, all of which (with the exception of the Stampin’ Blends) can quickly be added to your shopping cart by clicking on the thumbnails below:

If you have any questions regarding any of the design elements of this card, do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you leave here inspired to put stamps to ink to paper.  Until next time, stamp on my friends.

Linda

Posted in Any Occassion, Cards | Tagged | Leave a comment

Thanks for Everything – All Things Thanks

Posted on October 12, 2017 by Linda Tolson Yarbrough

I wanted to thank everyone who takes the time to visit my blog.  WordPress is so impressed by the activity they sent me a “thumbs up”!  Since I don’t have everyone’s home address to send each of you a card to thank you personally I thought I would make today’s project a thank you card.

If you are needing a stamp set for that perfect way to say “thank you” on a card, then the All Things Thanks stamp set is just what the doctor ordered.  This card was quick and easy and actually came together in my designer mind in no time.

Here are the Stampin’ Up! products that I used in the design of this card, all of which can quickly be added to your shopping cart by clicking on the thumbnails below:

If you have any questions regarding any of the design elements of this card, do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for stopping by today (and I hope you are enjoying your visits when you do drop in).  I hope you leave here inspired to put stamps to ink to paper.  Until next time, stamps on my friends.

Linda

Posted in Cards, Thank You | Tagged | 1 Comment

Breast Cancer Awareness Month – Ribbon of Courage

Posted on October 11, 2017 by Linda Tolson Yarbrough

October is not just about pumpkins, ghosts, goblins, black cats and trick or treat.  For more than 30 years, October has been synonymous with “Pinktober” in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness.  If you watch professional football, then you have seen the players wearing pink cleats, pink sweatbands, pink socks and/or pink towels on their waists.  If you are a breast cancer survivor or the friend and family member of one, then you most likely have participated in one or more of the “Susan G. Komen 3-day Race for the Cure” events.

I wanted to take a moment and create a special card in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness and had the perfect bundle of products to work with from the 2017-2018 Annual Catalog by Stampin’ Up!  As I have commented before, this particular stamp set – Ribbon of Courage – was designed by Patty Bennett after she reached $1,000,000.00 (that’s ONE MILLION DOLLARS) in career sales as a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator!

The cancer ribbon, flowers and leaves were all cut using the Support Ribbon Framelits dies that coordinate with the Ribbon of Courage stamp set.  I may have gone a little overboard on this card (I likely could have used just one of the flowers), but I’m not really a “less is more” kind of person.

You really cannot tell from the photos, but I cut the flower in both Blushing Bride and Whisper White cardstock and layered them using dimensionals, offsetting the petals slightly.  I also curled the flowers with my bone folder.

Here are the Stampin’ Up! products that I used in the design of this card, all of which can quickly be added to your shopping cart by clicking on the thumbnails below:

If you have any questions regarding any of the other design elements of this card, do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you leave here inspired to put stamps to ink to paper.  Until next time, stamp on my friends.

Linda

Posted in Bundles, Cancer Awareness, Cards | Tagged , | Leave a comment