Wednesday, November 30, 2011

~ Warm Hugs on a cold winter day ~

Happy Wednesday, Friends!

As I write this post, I am sitting in my living room with only the lights of the Christmas tree.   We haven't decorated the tree just yet as we have a new kitten (he's just over 3 mo old) and we're going in stages so that he learns to stay clear of the tree.  So far, so good!  The soft glow of the white lights is so relaxing.   I'm ready to start playing some Mannheim Steamroller!

This week it's starting to turn a bit colder, so I was thinking of warm things.  Hot chocolate, chai tea, a roaring fire in the fireplace and my favorite blanket.

With those things in mind, I came up with my card to share today...


Here are my details:

Stamps:  Sweet N Sassy Stamps' Snowflake Flourish Clear Set
Papers: GP White, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Lost and Found Union Square dp
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Tim Holtz' tea bag distressing ink
Accessories: 5/8" deep red/white gingham ribbon, fleur de lis frame die, corner rounder, The Twinery red/white twine, stardust stickles, gold 1/2 pearls, dimensionals, sticky tape, MS snowflake punch

~*~*~*~*~
Thanks so much for stopping by today!  
Warm HUGS!
:)

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Vintage Rhubarb

It's hard to believe this is my last blog post, November has gone by so quickly! I've had so much fun creating cards for you and I hope you've enjoyed them too. I'm going to leave you with one last card using the sweet set, Rhubarb's Christmas.

Rhubarb is such a cute little fella! I love the look of him stamped and colored on watercolor paper with stamp pads and an aquapainter, it gives him such texture. Antique linen and vintage photo distress inks were sponged around the edge before matting him on another oval. The Christmas Blessings sentiment from the Christmas Joy clear stamp set was embossed in gold sparkle embossing powder. Some vintage lace and ribbons finish up his look.

Recipe:
stamps: Rhubarb's Christmas, Christmas Joy
ink: timber brown Stazon, assorted SU! inks to color, vintage photo and antique linen distress, versamark
paper: early espresso, very vanilla, Recollections Naughty or Nice, watercolor paper
accessories: ribbon, lace, liquid pearls, SU! ticket corner punch, oval nestabilities, gold ep

I wish you all a joyful holiday season and Merry Christmas!
Happy Stamping,
~Holly


Monday, November 28, 2011

Wildflowers in Thanks

Good morning everyone!  I hope that all of you who celebrate Thanksgiving had a wonderful and relaxed holidays!  I found myself within enough time to really think about everyone for whom I was grateful and I made sure that I called and/or made cards for them. 

This card is for a particular friend who has recently gone so far above and beyond for me.  Her own cards tend toward vintage collage.  I don't have the talent nor the supplies for that style, so I tried to base the card in my own fairly simple style but by adding a text background and some sponging on the edges, I think it takes on a vintage look.


The stamp set is Wildflowers.  I also used Sweet 'n Sassy's Lacey Eyelet Border Dies to add the lace and ribbon embellishment.


The wildflower stamp that I used is so flexible.  Bridget created this "simply" stunning card; Harriet used it on this soft and gentle card and Jessica created a bright bouquet on her cheerful card!

The inside uses a sentiment from Blessing & Thanks which has a few sentiments that are perfect for Thanksgiving but is also great year-round with its thank you and blessings sentiments.


Thanks for dropping by!

Kim Singdahlsen

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Customer Spotlight Sunday





Good Morning!

Today we have Makiko Jones in our Customer Spotlight!  Makiko runs our Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenge for us every week and makes wonderful cards!  She is a vital part of Sweet 'n Sassy and we appreciate her so much.   I thought it would be fun to spotlight her so that those of you who don't frequent the Digi Challenge would see some of her cards and maybe stop by her blog!

We love to see the things you make and to spotlight our customers.  If you have cards or projects you've made, we hope you'll upload them to SCS, the SNS Connection, or play along in one of our challenges!

Friday, November 25, 2011

Cozy Friends Shaker Card...

Good Morning!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving day yesterday.

I have a fun shaker card today. The circle images from Cozy Friends clear stamp set are perfect for making shaker elements.

First I stamped and colored my image with Copic Markers, then cut it out. Next I die-cut a scallop circle out of Window Sheet. I put a very thin strip of dimensional tape around the colored panel, put some Micro Beads inside, and attached the clear scallop circle on top. Then I stamped another image, colored the circle strip, and cut it out. Attached that to the clear circle, and also covered up the dimensional tape that was showing through the clear sheet.
The background was embossed with Snowflakes embossing folder. To dress up my card, I used a doily, rhinestones, and Baker's Twine. The greeting was stamped on a ticket die-cut and stapled onto the card.
Hope I inspired you to try to make one!
Thanks for visiting,
Monika

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Warm Chocolate Hugs

This week's CAS challenge over on Splitcoaststampers is to make a card with a winter/holiday theme.  Easy peasy for me, because I am currently in love with this gorgeous Snowflake Flourish set.  I kept my card super simple, and added the sentiment on a quick little banner I made.  I spritzed the left side with some water and rolled the edge around my paper piercer.  Spritzing it with water helps it roll smoothly.  I fussy cut a few snowflakes to pop up on foam tape as well. 

Important SHIPPING Announcement: 
Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps will be closed over the Thanksgiving holiday to enjoy time with our family. You may continue to place orders however we will not be shipping November 23rd-November 30th. Shipping will resume December 1st. Thank you for understanding.

Supplies: 
Stamps: Snowflake Flourish (SNSS)
Card Stock: Kraft (Bazzill)
Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento)
Tools: paper piercer (to roll edge), spray bottle (Stampendous)

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Snowflakes

Greetings everyone and welcome to the Thanksgiving Eve (well it's almost eve) post! Hope everyone is ready and excited about tomorrow's Thanksgiving festivities! We're looking forward to spending the day with a few couples from church. It's been a tradition for the past 10 years or so and we always have a wonderful day!

As for today's card, I couldn't help but share a card made with one of the newest releases, Snowflake Flourish. Let's see, I love snowflakes and swirls and this set combines those two ideas into one image...swoon...I'm in love! The large snowflake swirl image was used on the white paper banner, which also has a hint of Tumbled Glass Distress Ink on the edges. I also stamped a few of the single snowflake images in a darker blue (Chipped Shappire), cut them out, and popped them up with foam tape. I love this large sentiment and decided to add a whole lotta rhinestones around the edge of the circle to add that extra bling. The designer paper is from Little Yellow Bicycle and has become one of my favorite winter lines.

I hope you enjoyed today's card and I'm wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011


Wow! Thanksgiving is only 2 days away, are you thawing your turkey yet? Maybe you're already decorating for Christmas! Traditionally we decorate the Saturday after Thanksgiving and then attend the Holiday Stroll our town hosts in the evening. The polar bear from Cozy Friends has decided to decorate a little early this year!



Doesn't he look so cute and festive with that wreath around him? First I embossed the polar bear in white on crumb cake and colored him with prismacolor pencils. I used a black marker to emphasize some of his facial features, added glitter to his fur and cut him out. The wreath is snipped from a piece of dp from the Recollections Naughty or Nice stack. I cut a slot in the bottom and inserted Mr. Bear. Here's a close up...



I added some red gems, a red bow and jingle bells attached with twine to decorate his wreath. The main panel is from the My Mind's Eye Countdown to Christmas pad.

Recipe:
stamps: Cozy Friends
ink: versamark
paper: SU! crumb cake, riding hood red, MME Countdown to Christmas, Recollections Naughty or Nice
accessories: baker's twine, jingle bells, prismacolor pencils, glitter, ribbon, gems

How about getting a head start on your holiday shopping? Starting today Sweet 'n Sassy is offering 25% off ALL Clear Stamp Sets AND Dies! (excludes bundles)

Thanks for stopping by! I wish you all a Blessed Thanksgiving as you celebrate the things you're thankful for.

~Holly

Monday, November 21, 2011

A Silhouette Thankyou

Hello, it's Bridget here today with a very quick and simple sponging and silhouette card for you - I love the look of a black silhouette against a bright splash of color.  And in the middle of making Christmas cards, I had the urge to make something fresh and flowery!
I sponged the card base using SU's Certainly Celery and Old Olive, then used a Fiskar's punch to round the corners.  Sweet and Sassy Stamps Wildflowers set works wonderfully to stamp multiple times at different heights across the bottom of a card, whatever the width.  The sentiments are beautiful and I like to use them for thank you cards especially - I added a small row of black pearls as an accent.
The gems in the flower centers are colored with Copic Y95 to match the green. To finish I added some black and white gingham ribbon to pick up on the black of the silhouette.
Hope it's a good Monday for you!
Hugs, Bridget
Supplies:
White Linen cardstock
Gingham ribbon
Sweet and Sassy Stamps Wildflowers
Versafine Black Onyx ink
Pearls
Stampin Up Old Olive, Certainly Celery ink
Gems
Copic
Fiskar's corner Rounder
 

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Customer Spotlight Sunday

A Happy Sunday Morning to you!  This is our Customer Spotlight Sunday and I have another sweet Customer to share with you today.  Our cards today are made by Donna Hanley


I chose more than one of her cards to share because she has so many cute ones.  Donna loves Rhubarb so I had to share one of her Rhubarb cards.  The card above is one of our newest images, Cupid Rhubarb.  She's colored him so perfectly!


What I love about this Cocoa card is the non traditional Christmas colors and how cute it looks!  For this card she used our Cocoa's Christmas Tree digi but it also comes in stamp form too. 


And one last Rhubarb card, Rhubarb's Snowy Day, digi which also comes in stamp form, Rhubarb's Winter Fun.

Donna is an active member on our Sweet 'n Sassy Connection.  We enjoy getting to know the ladies that share their cards and play along with our challenges there.  Thank you Donna for all the wonderful cards you make!

We appreciate each of you that share your cards and projects on SCS and our SNS Connection!
Have a great week!


Saturday, November 19, 2011

~ There's No Business Like Snow Business ~

Happy Saturday, Friends!

First, I want to give a big shout out to Janette for swapping post days with me.   Craziness has set in here in the McMillen household.

Today I'm sharing with you a new digi from Korin.   This adorable sketchy snowman just warms my heart :)


I used the negative piece of some punched snowflakes to trim the bottom on my snowflake embossed cardstock.   The image is created using the telescoping image technique.

Here are my details:
Colors: GP White, Cherry Cobbler
Ink: Versafine Black Onyx, copics, white gel pen
Accessories: 3/8" christmas gingham ribbon, MS snowflake punch, gold 1/2 pearls, snowflake embossing folder, sticky tape, circle punch, nestabilities, 

~*~*~*~*~

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Hugs!
Holly

Friday, November 18, 2011

Save the Turkeys!

When I realized Thanksgiving is less than a week away, I knew what I wanted to do for my SNSS Blog post!  Every year my DH and I get invited to Thanksgiving dinner, and every year I make a table favor for everyone, so it was time for me to come up with this year's idea!  Korin had just added a new "Save the Turkeys" digi to the SNSS Store that would be just perfect.  I started playing around with the Spellbinders Label 10 die because the ends reminded me of turkey feathers...okay...maybe that's a stretch, but bear with me!  This is what I came up with...AND...6 Hershey Nuggets or little cello bags of mixed nuts fit perfectly in this little favor box!


Here's how to make this cute little turkey box!

Step 1: Die cut the largest Label 10 die from card stock.  Now would be a good time to add texture if you want.  Center the die between the left end and the 6" mark on a Scor-Pal and score at 2 and 4 inches.  (Or use whatever scoring tool you have.)  Then turn the die vertically and score at the ends of the scallops on each side.  Cut the tabs up to the score line as shown.


Step 2:  Apply adhesive to the tabs on the right side of the die cut.


Step 3:  Fold on all the score lines.  Tuck the tabs in and adhere.  At this point you can decorate your box...or...make a liner.  


Step 4:  Cut a complimentary piece of card stock 4 1/2" X 4 1/2".  Score at 1 1/4" on all four sides.  Cut corner tabs to score line and add adhesive to the tabs on the right side of the box.


Step 5:  This is what you end up with.  This liner will tuck perfectly into the little die cut box.  I added some adhesive to the bottom to hold it in place.   
Step 6:  I decorated my box by cutting a piece of DP with the next size smaller die and wrapped it around the box. The great thing about digi images is that I was able to size the turkey to fit the box perfectly!  The "Save the Turkey" image was colored with copic markers, cut out, and popped up on the front of the box.  A 6" piece of ribbon was adhered to the sides of the box and buttons were added for decoration.  


And there you have it!   Be sure to check out all the other new digs and wonderful stamp sets at SNSS!  For this week, every $25 gift certificate you buy, you get a $5 gift certificate for yourself!  Thanks for stopping by!  I'm off to make several more of these turkey favors...Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

A little Snowman Soup ~

This adorable snowman was released earlier this month and I promptly coloured him using my copic markers! He can be paired with a cute poem titled Snowman Soup. If you look closely, you will see that I only used the first verse of this poem. There's a story behind the why but it's not very creative so I will spare you all the details.

I pulled out my Basic Grey paper pad to complete the card. I love the Kraft cardstock for a nostaligic Holiday feel. I layered my dp and ran it through my poinsettia embossing folder to give it some texture. Snowman is die cut with spellbinders and used grosgrain ribbon to tie it all together.

stamps: Snowman Soup digi, Snowman Soup Poem Digi
Inks: Copics, memento, colourbox toffee chalk ink
Embellishments: ribbon, pearls

Don't forget that this week only Sweet 'n Sassy 's special! Every $25 in gift certificate earns you $5 for yourself! How fun is that!

Have a great Thursday and check out this weeks challenges on Splitcoast and SNS Connection Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Christmas Present

I have pretty limited craft budget so I really enjoy getting the most out of my supplies and using them in new ways. For the card I am sharing with you today, I used an all occasion everyday stamp set to create a Christmas card. I was inspired by a Christmas ad that I recently saw and that is where the idea for my card came from.



I stamped several different images from the Seeing Spots set in both red and gold inks to make a square. I then matted it and used some organdy ribbon to make it look like a present. The card was further embellished with gold stickles and gold pearls in the corners. I "framed" the sentiment by placing it between 2 score lines. I was fairly happy with how this card came out and I am planning on making more in some different color combos.

Supplies
stamps- Seeing Spots
Cardstock- Gold Sparkle, Blanc Sparkle and red from Paper Temptress
embellishments- gold pearls, gold stickles, gold organdy ribbon, and scor-pal


Tis the season for holiday shopping! This week's birthday special at Sweet N Sassy stamps is Buy a $25 gift certificate and get a $5 gift certificate for yourself. Now that is my kinda shopping- one for you and one for me too so everyone is happy lol.

Well, have a great day and thanks for stopping in!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

It's a Birthday Party!

Hi all, it's Holly again! Since Sweet 'n Sassy is celebrating it's 4th birthday this month I thought I'd share a birthday card with you today.


For today's card I colored the plane from Little Boy Toys with markers, highlighting with a white gel pen. The clean lines make these images a breeze to cut out and pop up. I hand cut the cloud, banner and rolling hills and sponged them all with pool party ink. The fun dotted papers come from the 6x6 Quite Contrary Jack and Jill pad by My Mind's Eye. A bit of Caribbean Baker's Twine and button add the final touch.

Recipe:
stamps: Little Boy Toys
ink: Stazon Jet Black, Stampin' Up pool party, SU! markers
paper: whisper white, basic black, MME Quite Contrary Jack and Jill
accessories: caribbean baker's twine, button, signo gel pen

Be sure to check out the birthday special for the week over at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps! Happy Tuesday!

~Holly

Monday, November 14, 2011

Thinking of You...Twice!

This is my first post as part of the Sweet 'n Sassy design team and I am thrilled to be here!

I tend toward a very clean and simple style.  I usually have a layer or two, I like ribbon and bows, and I do like coloring (Rhubarb and Cocoa are particular favorites) - but overall I keep things simple.  My sample cards today are particularly simple because I had some wonderful new Sweet 'n Sassy stamps that are unique and stylish enough to stand on their own.

I wanted to use the Thinking of You stamp set that is free in November with a $50 purchase.  It is a set of eight "Thinking of Yous" - each with a unique font and style. 

For my first card, I used the Season of Change stamp and die set.  These leaves have such an interesting pattern, I knew they could stand alone on a clean and simple, one-layer card.  As an experiment, I used one die to cut a window and a different die and stamp on top.


Both stamps are rock and rolled in a darker color.  Then the top leaf has some Clear Rock Candy Distress Stickles which gives shine and sparkle but in a very subtle way.


My second card is a totally different look although even simpler than the first card.  The butterfly is from Polka Dot Silhouettes - I love his shape and knew that he would be unique enough to highlight the sweet and stylish lines of the sentiment.


I hope I have given you some new ideas for your stamps or perhaps some additions to your Sweet 'n Sassy wishlist!!

Kim Singdahlsen

Leaf Card:
  • Stamps: Sweet 'n Sassy Thinking of You, Season of Change
  • Paper: Vanilla
  • Ink: Stampin' Up Pumpkin and Cajun, Limeade and Olive, Chocolate
  • Accessories: Sweet 'n Sassy Season of Change dies, Clear Rock Candy Distress Stickles
Butterfly Card:
  • Stamps: Sweet 'n Sassy Thinking of You, Polka Dot Silhouettes
  • Paper: White
  • Ink: Stampin' Up Calypso Coral, Basic Gray
  • Accessories: Cuttlebug dotted border, Stampin' Up scallop border, misc pearls

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Customer Spotlight Sunday

Whoo Hoo! I have a treat for you today with these cute Candy Bar Wrappers that our friend, Wendy Aungst made.   I had to share pictures of ALL of them since I couldn't decide on my favorite!







Now don't you think that these will make great Christmas gifts!?! 

Wendy did a great job on these using our clear stamp set, Rhubarb's Christmas.  BUT, you can also get these images in digi form...HERE!

Thank you Wendy for sharing these fabulous candy wrappers with us!
Remember, we love to see what our customers are making and love to share them here on our blog.  If you have things to share, please upload them to our SCS Gallery or on our SNS Connection.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Birthday Blog Hop Winners!!!

What an amazing hop! I am overwhelmed by the participation, the creativity and the comments we received. What a blessing you all are to me :)!!

I am happy to announce our 4 winners from the hop....

From Lori Craig's Blog....
Shannon White

From Mary Faus's Blog....

Melissa E

From Shelby Goolsby's Blog....
Lorie Souther

From Beate Johns' Blog....

Heather Jensen

Congratulations, ladies!! Please email me at korinstamps@comcast.net to claim your prize!

Blessings,
Korin

Friday, November 11, 2011

Fall Time Cocoa


Good morning!

Have you have a chance to play along with this week's SCS Inspiration Challenge hosted by our design team coordinator Taylor Usry yet?  Here's the photo she shared to use when creating your card:



I used SNSS's Fall Time Cocoa for my card along with some papers from My Mind's Eye Stella Rose Mabel patterned papers for paper piecing and the actual card.

I hope you get a chance to play along with us this week!
Jessica

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Freezin' Season Snow-globe card...

Good Morning! Today I have (another) snow-globe shape card for you. (Most of you must have seen my card for the Release Day Blog Hop.) I used the same stamp set, Freezin' Season... plus Holly Jolly Christmas.

Here are directions to help you make the snow-globe shape. Start out with die-cutting a circle out of acetate/window sheet. I used my largest, 3-3/4" Spellbinder Circle die for that.

Next trace the circle on a folded 11-1/2" x 4-1/4" card stock, and drew in the rest of the globe:



Cut the snow-globe out (make sure you don't cut apart front and back panel). Next cut front panel as indicated:


Trace bottom piece onto a dry embossed red card stock, which is going to be the front-bottom panel of the globe. You will end up with the following pieces:


When assembling card, first adhere window sheet to top (you might have to trim a small piece off the top of acetate circle so it fits properly), then just sandwich bottom part between the 2 front panel pieces. Decorate as desired.


I used Maraschino Baker's Twine, Black Lace, Silver Rhinestones, a Gold Bell, and some punched leaves on my card. The image was colored with Copic Markers. I also added some Stickles as snow.


The original greeting is 2 lines, but I inked the words up individually and stamped them on one line.


Hope I inspired you to make a snow-globe card of your own. The sweet images from Freezin' Season stamp set are just perfect for that.


Thanks for visiting,


Monika

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Happy Winter!

Hi everyone, it's Taylor here today!  I'm sharing a simple card I made recently that is super easy to make in large batches(perfect for holiday card making!).  Last week's CAS Challenge over on Splitcoaststampers was a color combo - ivory, chocolate, and red.   I think this is such a delicious combo!  I made my card on a day when much of the country was getting snow (not us, even thought I wanted it - we got cold temperatures and rain, which I also happen to love).  To console myself about our lack of snow, I inked up one of my current favorite sets from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, Snowflake Silhouettes.

I stamped my snowflakes randomly on a cream panel, and then cut it into three sections. The ones on the left and right are 1 1/4" wide, and the one in the middle is 1 1/2" wide.  I stamped a sentiment and popped it up on dimensionals, and added three small stickers on the right side of the card to balance it out.

Supplies: 
Stamps: Snowflake Silhouettes (SNSS)
Card Stock: Chocolate Chip, Real Red (SU); Cream (Bazzill)
Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento); Barn Door (Ranger)
Accessories: Dot Sparklers Stickers - Red Holograph (Stampendous)