Fall Cards

I have to say this is one of the cutest fall cards ever!  I got the idea from Michelle Last on Pinterest, but of course gave it my own spin.  I love the bright orange, green leaves, designer paper, button and the ribbon for the stem!  On the inside I used the circle die-cut and put a vanilla circle there to dress it up and for the writing.  I want to make more of these!

The photo of this card came out a little blurry (sorry!) but I just love the simple colors on this card.  I copied this idea from Melynn O'Connor Long on the Stampin Up website.  I really like the pumpkin that is embossed with white on the crumb cake cardstock!

This card is so lovely in just the monochromatic colors of soft suede and crumb cake.  Simple, yet stunning.  I think it can be used as a sympathy card or other occasion, too.  Thanks to Susie Wood for the idea for this.

It's hard to tell in this photo, but the sign has crystal effects painted on it to give it a sheen and add some texture.  I sponged the leaves and the background to make them look more fall-like.  I found this idea from Cindy Hall.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like... Fall!

Yesterday I challenged myself to make a fall-themed display frame.  I had bought some of these frames at Hobby Lobby a while back (okay, truthfully I bought a whole case of them!) and wanted to start making projects using the frames.

I offered a stamping class for the ladies to make this for their fall decor.  I used Fall Fest and For All Things stamp sets.  You can set these frames on a plate holder to display them and change out the pieces for different seasons or events. 

What do you think? 

Sip 'N' Stamp Night

This weekend I had a stamping/fun event at my home called Sip 'N' Stamp!  I got the idea from a local painting place that has you come to paint a picture on a canvas.  You not only get to paint the canvas, but sip wine while you are painting.  So I figured why not have a stamping event where you can drink wine while making your projects!

I took out some wine decor items and decorated the house using them.  Then I lit some candles and put on some soft Italian music. 

 

Each of the ladies brought either an appetizer or a bottle of wine for everyone to try.  I started with some grapes and cheese and crackers.  Then I made some little sandwiches.  There ended up being some amazing foods and coupled with the wine, there was a lovely array of food and drinks to sample!

Our first project that we made was this grape card made with the stamp set, Work of Art.  I got the idea from Jean Piersanti from Pinterest.  What a fun way to use vague images and turn them into grapes!  I thought this idea would fit in so well with my theme!  I figured that if the ladies' grapes weren't coming out all that well, they could just have another glass of wine and their card would keep looking better and better!

 The next project was a wine bottle topper.  You can make these to put on a wine bottle and it acts like a card and a gift all at once!  Of course, if you don't drink or give wine, you can put the topper on a bottle of olive oil, or design it to go on a hand soap container.  I found this idea on Stamp with Jenn.

After that, we made another card featuring some glasses of champagne.  I had wanted to use the sparkle glitter paper for the "champagne," but couldn't find the paper in time for the class.  So I used silver metallic paper instead.  It's hard to tell from this photo, but the champagne is cut out and glued to the inside of the glasses to give it some dimension.  The rhinestones are supposed to resemble champagne bubbles floating out of the glasses.  I got this idea from Vicky Burdick. 

Our last project was a simple little magnet to make for the fridge to remember our special night together or to give as a gift with one or more of the other items. The ladies could choose from a number of images and each one came out as uniquely different as the ladies who came.

The Sip 'N' Stamp event was such a success.  Maybe we'll make it an annual event! 

Thanks for Your Hospitality

A friend of mine invited me to her cottage in the Pocono Mountains region this summer.  It was in a little town in Pennsylvania called Shickshinny!  What a cute little town it was- sort of like traveling back in time. 

Her cottage was build in the late 1800's and stands with a lot of other quaint cottages all in a row, just like the one in my stamped image!  I made her this Thank You card that almost looks like a replica of her cottage and the ones next to it using an stamp set. Hers is the blue house in the middle.

There's a new "house" stamp in the holiday catalog that is somewhat similar to this one, but has individual houses in it along with framelits to cut out the images.  I'm looking forward to getting that set and making some fall holiday cards with it.  

Oh, and yeah- I had a great time at her cottage.  :)

Making Fabric Flowers

I have been wanting to make flowers out of fabric for a long time!  Finally, I took the plunge and tried it!

Last week I had a girls' night party and one of the things that we did was to make fabric flowers.  I cut out some assorted colored fabrics and lots of tulle in three sizes using my Big Shot and a flower die.

 Then I layered about 2-3 pieces of each size fabric with a couple pieces of tulle or lace in between each one to give it some "fluff."  I folded them in half and sewed a little tuck on the bottom of each sized flower before I added the next layer.  This makes the shape of the flower so that it doesn't turn out flat.

After all three layers were complete, I cut out felt circles from a circle die and glued them onto the back with a glue gun.

Then I opened up the clip and inserted a wooden skewer into it to keep it open while I glued it onto the back with the glue gun.  Once it was dry, I removed the skewer and Wella- the flower is done! 

 Here are some of my friends working on their flowers.  You can wear them in your hair, accessorize an outfit with one of more of them, clip them onto your purse or tote bag, or any number of things.  They are also great for brides and bridesmaids to wear.  You can even make a bouquet out of them!

What would you do with your fabric flowers?

Making Bath Teas

My sister is really into making and using all natural items to use to take care of your skin and body.  She taught me to use epsom salts in my bath and how to make an epsom mixture to create a "bath tea." 

I started by cutting some fine thread organza fabric with my Big Shot using the scalloped square die cut.  Then I sewed around on three sides to make a pocket for the epsom salts.  I filled it with my mixture and then sewed up the final side, sealing in the salts. 

 I put the bath tea into a plastic bag and decorated the topper with some stamping (what I love to do!).  Here they are in a basket all ready for my friends to try!

On the back of the topper, I wrote down some of the healing properties of epsom salts.  It has been known to relieve stress, sooth your muscles and soften your skin and much more!  If you'd like to read more about what it can do for you, click to the link here.

Planting Herbs

This summer I planted an herb garden with the help of a friend.  She hooked me up with various plants and got me started.  So my front porch now looks like a small garden filled with dill, basil, oregano, lavender, cilantro, mint and chives! 

I loved having fresh herbs for my summer cooking- the dill and cilantro are my favorites!  I am even learning how to dry the herbs to use for dip mixes and soups. 

To make my thank you card, I used an old favorite stamp set, called Sweet Herbs.  I did some water coloring on it and was very happy with the outcome. 

I can't wait until next year to expand my garden and try more new plants!

What kind of herbs do you like to grow and what is your favorite way to use them?  

Mixing My Two Favorite Hobbies!

This week I had some Thank You cards to make for some special people in my life who do wonderful things for me.  I made this sewing themed card for my friend who loves to sew.  She makes a lot of projects using hexagons, one of the latest trends in sewing. 

So I took out my Six-Sided stamp set and designed this adorable "hexie" card.  I used an old saying, "The fabric of friendship is stitched with love." 

 I just love the colors and how it came out.  What a great mixture of two of my favorite hobbies- sewing and stamping!