Just Rite Projects from Stamping Around Philly

Well, the much anticipated Stamping Around Philly weekend has come and gone! :( I can't believe how anxiously I looked forward to this, how far in the future it seemed to be, and Beth and I both lamented on the way home Saturday night that we couldn't believe it was over already! Now begins the task of convincing Julie and Kim that a Stamping Around Ohio needs to take place! Who's with me on that?

Beth and I had so much fun, despite getting re-routed 2 hours out of our way on Friday because the interstate was closed down for 11 miles! What should have been a 6 hour drive ended up taking 8 hours, and we arrived just in time for the first class on Friday night! Beth proved to be an awesome navigator with her iPhone as I did all the driving, and we talked and talked the whole time!

I was so proud to have JustRite Stampers sponsoring my class at the event! They generously donated all the stamps that were used in the class, and those were given away as door prizes when we were done! There were many ladies that were thrilled to win those stamps! Here is what everyone made for my class, using the new 'Tis the Season paper from Bo Bunny, and cardstock from Gina K Designs.

Everyone got to make one of these great little boxes to hold four tea light candles. The idea for this was inspired by a 3-D Tuesday project on Paper Craft Planet designed by Lori Tecler. We used the Merry Little Christmas stamp set from JustRite for this project.
And for this tent-topper style card, we used the Old Fashioned Christmas stamp set.
I was SO lucky to get to go to this event and meet some online, blogging friends, too! LeAnne Pugliese (in the center) and I have been friends for several years now, and I was so thrilled to get to meet her in person for the first time! She is gorgeous and petite and has the cutest clothes and the greatest smile! And Kristin Bueter was our Guest Designer on the Color Throwdown back in September, and ever since then she and I have become fast friends, so I was so excited that she was able to come to Stamping Around too and to get to meet her! She's even prettier in person with gorgeous style, and I know we could have stayed up all night gabbing and stamping if we'd had more energy! Kristin and LeAnne had a very sweet girl named Jackie who roomed with them, and I was happy to get to know her better, too!
Here's my friend Beth (on the left) stamping away on my project with Korin Sutherland, the owner of Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps! Korin was such a sweetheart and we were so happy to have her there as she taught a bonus class on Friday night, too! I won a stamp set from her, and can't wait to get some use out of it. Ironically, Beth and I traveled all that way together but never once thought to have someone snap our picture together! LOL I guess because we see each other all the time, the notion didn't occur to us!
And here I am with Becky Oehlers! Becky and I were on the Kitchen Sink Stamps team together, and have one of those soul-sister connections! I knew we'd hit it off if we ever got the chance to meet, and I was right! She's amazingly funny, and energetic, and sweet (and gave me the most awesome back rub when I arrived on Friday night!) Her Papertrey Ink project was fabulous!
Here's everyone working hard with their JustRite stamps during my class!
And here is the group of all the teachers from the event, left to right... Korin Sutherland, me, Becky, Kim Schofield and Julie Masse (the Stamping Around founders and organizers), and in front is Charmaine Ikach and Kathi Rerek. Julie's class used some cute new stamps from Kitchen Sink (that I just had to buy to bring home!), Kathy did some fun projects from Bombshell Stamps, and Charmaine had us make an adorable box full of cards using stamps from Taylored Expressions.

Many thanks to Julie and Kim for all the hard work they put in to this event! It was so much fun, and I seriously want them to plan the next one in Ohio! (*subliminal message to Julie and Kim... Come to the Buckeye State... come to the Buckeye State... come to the Buckeye State!*)

Happy Monday everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

Stamp Simply #112 - Let's Be Thrifty!

For today's Stamp Simply challenge, Sharon is challenging you to be thrifty! Use some brown postal wrap or a brown paper grocery sack (which is so yummy because it so closely resembles my favorite Kraft cardstock!) in your creation today! Use it on a card, wrap something up, or use it on a 3-D or altered item... decorate it to the hilt or keep it plain and simple!

I personally was going to bow out of the challenge today! I've been sick all week, and have been concentrating incredibly hard on getting better so I can leave Friday morning for Stamping Around Philadelphia, so I didn't have any time for stamping this past week. BUT, there are 3 special people who I am meeting at the event who I want to give some gifts to, so I picked up a little something-something as I left work today, and figured I could quickly and simply wrap them in some brown paper for today's challenge! Hmmm.... who could these be for??? What could be inside???

I could have easily spent a ton of time decorating these up, but since I still need to pack my clothes I decided to keep my design uber-simple with some ribbon, and just punched out some tags with a scalloped circle punch and tied to the bow!

We welcome a new guest designer to the Stamp Simply team for November, Bethany Paull from It's Not all Black and White! AND Bethany is another person I'm going to be meeting at Stamping Around this weekend!

Sharon Johnson has a fabulous sample for you on her blog, along with all the challenge details, and my Stamp Simply sisters have more inspiration for you on their blogs!

Barbara * Julie * Janine * Deb

Jenny * AJ * Barb

So LeAnne, Kristin, Bethany, Julie, Kim, Charmaine, Becky, Kathy, Korin and everyone else coming to Stamping Around at the Glasbern Country Inn... I'll see you soon!

Color Throwdown #67

Sorry, but I don't have a Color Throwdown card to share with you all today. I am fighting like crazy to keep from getting any sicker than I am right now... it appears to be a touch of bronchitis and I'm crazy-scared that I'll be too sick to travel this Friday and join everyone at Stamping Around Philly! So I am taking it easy, pushing lots of fluids and Vitamin C, and trying to sleep as much as possible. Please be sure to stop by the Throwdown blog to see what the girls have to share with you today using these colors! I was so happy with my choice of colors for today, so you can bet I'll get a card done using these colors eventually, but certainly not this week!

Happy stamping!

Cupcake Inspiration #31 Farewell

It's time again for another Cupcake Inspiration challenge with the Sweeties from Hope Stamps Eternal, and sadly it will be my last one. I made some tough decisions this week regarding the load of work I've had lately with so much design work, and came to the conclusion that I needed to step back from some of my commitments to devote more time to family, church, friends and other interests. So I'll be leaving the Sweeties behind after today, but I encourage you to keep checking in with all those girls for their fabulous designs, and the great products Rachel always has to offer in her store! I've also decided to step down from Chicken Girl Designs, but will have a few more designs with the new holiday stamps that were recently released before I go. I hope you'll keep lending your support to the girls on that team, too!

So here are your cupcakes for today! I went with a more earthy look for my card and used the reds, yellows and dots as my inspiration...

These papers are from the Early Bird mini-deck from Cosmo Cricket along with the Fall Trilogy stamps from Rubbernecker. I also used Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #45 for my layout.
There's a new Guest Sweetie this month, and I'm sure you'll love to see her awesome work all through November, so please stop over at Teresa Kline's blog to see her take on today's cupcakes! Then go see what the rest of the Sweeties have concocted for today...

Rachel * Michelle * Colleen * Jessica

Bonnie * Carolina * Natalie * Kelli

So, you'll be seeing a little less of actual design "work" from me in the coming months, but hopefully a stamper that's a lot less stressed! I still hope to pick up some guest design work here and there to share with you (ya' hear that all my favorite companies?), but in the long run I know this is the right move for me. I hope you'll continue to stop by and see what I've created, anyway! I appreciate the support so much!

Happy stamping!

Stamps: Fall Trilogy (Rubbernecker)Carstock: Kraft, Ruby Red, Confetti Cream (Stampin' Up!), yellow (Core'dinations), designer paper (Early Bird by Cosmo Cricket)

Inks: Versamark (Tsukineko), Ruby Red (Stampin' Up!), Antique Linen distress ink (Ranger)Accessories: double-dot scallop border (Martha Stewart), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), twill ribbon (Creative Impressions), flowers, brads (craft supply).

Just Us Girls Challenge #5

Well, here I am on a Saturday getting to play along with the JUGS challenge with my sweet friend Kristin (who I'm going to meet next Friday at Stamping Around along with another of my wonderful friends, LeAnne!) The JUGS challenge for today is to create a holiday card that showcases a photo! After you create a card, link it on the JUGS blog to Mr. Linky. Then, send an email to the Just Us Girls email address (located in the left sidebar on the blog) with a link to your card and you will receive the digital stamp and sentiment set shown below, courtesy of Kristin! Yes, Kristin drew that fabulous lamp post and created the two sentiment verses as a special treat for everyone who plays the JUGS challenge today! (you can click on the photo for a close-up!)

Now why, you might ask, am I playing along today, too? I'm not a member of the JUGS team but I did end up getting to take part in the freebie you'll receive today if you play along! Awhile back, I sent Kristin a card and she went crazy over my handwriting. Now mind you, I see my handwriting everyday... it's just my writing, and has never seemed to be anything special to me. But she loved it, and wanted to use if for this set! So, you see that "Happy Holidays" in the set, and on my card below? Yep... that's my writing! :) So I hope you'll play along today so you can get this free digi set! I think it'd be pretty darn cool to see some cards out their in blogland with my writing on them!

Stop over at the JUGS blog to see what their super-talented designers came up with using this wonderful digi-stamp set, and go get busy creating!

I am off to my friend Beth's house today to get busy cutting cardstock for my class next week at Stamping Around in Allentown, Pennsylvania! Beth and I will be hitting the road next Friday morning for the event, and I am so excited to get to meet so many new people!

Have a great weekend!

Stamps: Happy Holidays digital stamp set

Cardstock: green, black (Bazzill), designer paper (Making Memories)

Inks: marker (Copic)

Accessories: Nestabilities tags (Spellbinders), ribbon (craft supply).

(photograph courtesy of Google images... photographer unknown)

Color Throwdown #66

LeAnne is our hostess this week for Color Throwdown #66. LeAnne likes to try to kill me by using blue all the time! ;) It's not necessarily my least favorite color, but it is a color I struggle to use. But that's what a challenge is, right? So here's what I came up with, using the Sketch for You to Try from Jen's blog.

I'm keeping this post short and sweet because it's late, I'm exhausted, and kinda' at my wit's end. Please be sure to stop by the Throwdown blog for all the challenge details, and visit the other designers' blogs for inspiration...

LeAnne * Broni * Cathy

Barbara * Danielle * Lisa

Many thanks to Lisa Kind for being our Guest Designer for October! It's been fun to have her share her designs, and get to know her better! Stay tuned for next month's Guest Designer! She's gonna' giddyup onto the Throwdown in a big way!

Happy stamping!

Stamps: Fall Trilogy (Rubbernecker)

Cardstock: blue (unknown), Rich Razzleberry, Elegant Eggplant, Confetti White (Stampin' Up!)

Inks: Bordering Blue, Elegant Eggplant (Stampin' Up!)

Accessories: ribbon (Stampin' Up!), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder (ProvoCraft).

Featured Stamper, Rachel!

The Sweetest of the Hope Stamps Sweeties is the Featured Stamper today over at Splitcoaststampers! Big congrats to Rachel for being chosen this week! I found this card in Rachel's gallery and CASE'd it with the new Rubbernecker Snowflakes & Stardust stamp set to create this card.

The Sage cardstock on the card base was embossed with a Spellbinders Impressabilities die that I just got at the store called Snowflakes. (I have to say... maybe these things work better in a Wizard instead of a Cuttlebug? I'm not totally impressed... pun intended, with the embossing. I get much better results from my Cuttlebug folders!) I spritzed the Sage cardstock with Pearl Ex mixed in water for extra shimmer, too. The red snowflake designer paper is from the Cosmo Cricket mini deck, Jolly by Golly (available at Hope Stamps Eternal).

I stamped the swirly trees in Handsome Hunter and Sage Shadow inks on Stampin' Up! shimmery white cardstock. After those inks were completely dry, I stamped the snowflakes and stars using Brilliance Rocket Red ink, then embossed with clear embossing powder. I cut the tree out with Nestabilities, then sponged more Sage Shadow ink around the edges before removing from the die. For a finishing touch, I added this great new chunky shard glass glitter I just got called Diamond Dust. The photo really didn't capture how much sparkle and shimmer there is on this image, though!

While I was playing around with new Rubbernecker stamps, I also made this quick card using the new Fall Trilogy stamp set, and did an emboss resist with the leaves on glossy cardstock. The leaves were stamped with an old Kaleidacolor ink pad, and clear embossed. Then I brayered Scattered Straw and Tea Dye distress inks over it before cutting out with the Nestabilities.
The leaves inside were stamped with Versamark over the sentiment.
I'm hoping and praying that my coming week is one hundred times better than last week! I hope your week gets off to a great start! Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas card

Stamps: Snowflakes & Stardust (Rubbernecker)Cardstock: red (Core'dinations), Handsome Hunter, Sage Shadow, Shimmer White (Stampin' Up!), designer paper (Cosmo Cricket-Jolly by Golly)

Inks: Handsome Hunter, Sage Shadow (Stampin' Up!), Brilliance Rocket Red (Tsukineko)

Accessories: Impressabilities Snowflake die, Nestabilities (Spellbinders), chunky glitter (Diamond Dust), felt snowflake, brad (Creative Impressions), snowflake punch (Martha Stewart), rick rack (May Arts).

Fall Leaves card

Stamps: Fall Trilogy (Rubbernecker)

Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Ruby Red, Natural Ivory, Glossy (Stampin' Up!), tan (Core'dinations)

Inks: Harvest Kaleidacolor, Versafine Onyx Black, Versamark (Tsukineko), Tea Dye, Scattered Straw distress inks (Ranger)

Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder (ProvoCraft), button (Stampin' Up!), brads (Making Memories), ribbon (craft supply).

Cupcake Inspiration #30 - Bubble Bath

You can't deny... these cupcakes are seriously Halloween appropriate with all that CANDY! Don't you just love these bright colors? Guess what? My good friend (and Toyrifix customer) Beth found these cupcakes online, and sent the photo to me. I forwarded it to Rachel at Hope Stamps Eternal and she liked it so much, it's today's challenge! (woo hoo to Beth!) So c'mon... join the Hope Stamps Sweeties and create something inspired by these bright colorful cupcakes!

I want to get a few more cards made with Halloween images I have picked up this Fall, so I just had to use this new stamp I just got! When I saw this in the Impression Obsession catalog, I just had to have it! What else does a tired witch do after a long day of broomstick riding, cackling, casting spells, and causing mayhem but take a nice long bubble bath? Doesn't she look cozy? I went with the brightest colors I could for this card, including using that cheerfully bright Bella Blvd. paper in my design. That paper, along with a bunch of other great Bella Blvd. papers is available at Hope Stamps Eternal. I also used some Crystal Stickles on the bubbles, and the Zva black pearl swirl in the corner, both products also being available at HSE.
See what the other Sweeties have created to inspire you today and take some time to play along!

Rachel * Jessica * Colleen

Kelli * Bonnie * Michelle

Carolina * Natalie * Ida (guest Sweetie)

I hope you're having a great weekend! THANK YOU for stopping by! I appreciate your comments very much!

Stamps: Spa Day (Impression Obsession)

Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Melon Mambo (Stampin' Up!), purple (Core'dinations), white (Neenah), designer paper (Bella Blvd.)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukinko), Dusty Concord, Milled Lavendar distress inks (Ranger), markers (Copic)Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Stickles (Ranger), pearls (Zva), ribbon (craft supply).

Happy Birthday, Susanna!

There's a birthday on the Planet today... the Paper Craft Planet, that is... and we want YOU to join us in celebration! Susanna Boyd, our fearless leader is celebrating her birthday today! Susanna does a TON of behind the scenes work at PCP and we appreciate it so much, so the Super Novas wanted to make sure she feels extra special today!

In honor of Susanna's birthday, how would you like some gifts? Sound good? All you have to do is create a birthday card! Upload your card to the gallery at Paper Craft Planet and be sure to tag your photo with SB2009. Uploads must be in place by 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, October 25th. All the cards will be pulled into a special album, and some random numbers will be drawn to win some prizes! And we've got some nice prizes too, donated by some pretty generous companies...

7kidscollegefund - a High Hopes stamp and a Memory Box 8 pack of cards and envelopes

Hope Stamps Eternal - a Basic Grey "June Bug" prize package

Gina K Designs - Sweetest Blessings stamp set

Clear & Simple Stamps - $25 gift certificate

i{heart}papers - 3 Chicken Girl Design stamp sets

Kitchen Sink Stamps - Happy Birthday, Cupcake and Swirly Hearts and Stars stamp sets

Molly Stamps - stamp set of the winners choice

For my card, I decided to use this adorable Gingersnap stamp from C.C. Designs at All that Scraps. I just adore these cutie-patooties and couldn't resist this little sweetie offering a toast to Susanna for her birthday! I paired my image with this great Bella Blvd. paper from Hope Stamps Eternal. I just love the bright colors in those stripes, and they match the new In Colors from Stampin' Up! really well, too!

So, be sure to stop by Paper Craft Planet and check out this discussion in the forum for all the details regarding Susanna's birthday celebration! Then take some time to create a birthday card for Susanna! And if you really want to mail it to her, just send me a quick email and I'll get you her address!

Thanks for stopping by today and leavin' me some comment love! I appreciate your visits so much!

Stamps: Gingersnaps Celebrate! (CC Designs from All that Scraps)

Cardstock: Summer Sunrise (Papertrey Ink), Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo (Stampin' Up!), white (Neenah), designer paper (Bella Blvd.)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), Marigold Morning (Stampin' Up!), markers (Copic)

Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinders), ribbon (Stampin' Up!), brads (Doodlebug), flower (Prima), double dot scalloped border (Martha Stewart).

Color Throwdown #65 with Stamping Bella

I'm so excited for the Color Throwdown this week because we're being sponsored by one of my most favorites companies, Stamping Bella! Be sure to stop by the Throwdown blog to check out the details, including how you can be eligible to win $25 in Bella Bucks!

Danielle is our hostess this week and her colors were inspired by that hot summer item, Lemonade paper from Basic Grey! I however, forgot that she mentioned that and dug through my stash of papers until I ran across this October Afternoon paper with the same colors! I was thrilled to find this, and along with Mercy's Tuesday Sketch #44 for my layout I am totally happy with how my card turned out!
Had to finish the inside, too (of course!)
My Throwdown sisters have rocked this color challenge with the awesome stamps we received from Emily at Stamping Bella, so please be sure to visit their blogs and leave some love!

Danielle * LeAnne * Broni * Cathy

Barbara * Lisa, October Guest Designer

I hope you'll make time to play along! Thanks for stopping by! (And a special shout hello to my ladies from stamp class last night.... see, I wasn't too tired to get my card done!)

Stamps: Javabellas (Stamping Bella), sentiment (My Favorite Things)

Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, Taken with Teal, Certainly Celery (Stampin' Up!), white (Neenah), designer paper (October Afternoon)Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko), markers (Copic), Cool Caribbean (Stampin' Up!)

Accessories: brads (Bo Bunny), ribbon (Stampin' Up!), Nestabilities (Spellbinders).

Cupcake Inspiration #29 - Witchly Wishes

Well, I'm a little late to the party this week, but I'm finally getting around to the Hope Stamps Eternal Cupcake Inspiration challenge #29! Whadya' think of these cupcakes? Aren't they adorable? Years ago, my Mom had a witch she had made... sewed all her clothes, and I believe her body was made from pantyhose stuffed with poly-fil. She was SO cute in her black cape and hat, and had a cute Fall-patterned dress. She even had a broom my Mom made to fly on, and she hung from the light fixture in our kitchen every year. As kids, my sister and I named her Grizelda, and that is exactly what I was reminded of when I saw these cupcakes!

For my card, I used this cute with from my new Rubbernecker Halloween set #2, and I added some Basic Grey Eerie paper (available at Hope Stamps Eternal) for a little extra color. The layout for my card comes from the Weekend Sketch Challenge #102.
The buckle on her hat, and her buttons and shoes are all sparkly from some Spica glitter pens, and I used the Spiderweb Cuttlebug embossing folder for the black strip of cardstock.
See what the other Sweeties cooked up for you this week, inspired by these cute cupcakes, and make time to play along!

Rachel * Kelli * Bonnie

Carolina * Michelle

Jessica * Natalie

I hope you had a great weekend! Mine was restful, and full of blessings!

Stamps: Witch and sentiment (Rubbernecker Halloween set #2)

Cardstock: Black OP, Kraft (Bazzill), Really Rust (Stampin' Up!), cream (Neenah), designer paper (Eerie by Basic Grey)Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), Black Soot, Vintage Photo, Antique Linen distress inks (Ranger), markers (Copic)Accessories: Spiderweb Cuttlebug embossing folder (ProvoCraft), silver brads (Making Memories), button (Stampin' Up!), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), ribbon (craft supply).

Bath & Body Birthday

Kaylie has a birthday party for a friend to go to later today, and asked if I could do a little something with this Bath & Body Works stuff she bought for a gift, so I just put both bottles into a big cello bag, and tied it shut. The tag is made from an old favorite Hero Arts stamp, and cut out with Nestablities.

Hope you're having a great weekend!