FOCUS FRIDAY: MEETUP

What do you see?

Squint

your eyes.

A

MASK?

Wide

Gaping

EYE SOCKETS.

A

MOUTH

filled with

DISCONTENT.

Whether Halloween or not,

we all wear

MASKS.

Does anyone ever really

SEE

the real

ME?

or

YOU?

Life is

one big

MASQUERADE.

We all wear masks, and the time comes when we cannot remove them without removing some of our own skin.

- Andre Berthiaume -

Please visit me on INSTAGRAM.

Hidden

Smiles.

3 PUMPKINS AND A BOO

 Just wanted to send you all a big BOO via three little pumpkins:

I snipped out the center of the Spider Web Doily for this card, as I also did in the card below. I mean, after all, if the center if going to be covered up, why not save it for another project??? Just common sense, and it takes only a minute and a few snips

In lieu of the center of the web, I used a crumpled and sponged circle cut with the Circle Collection Framelits from an old romance novel. And, although it's not apparent in the photo, I fussy cut all the pumpkins, glued the two end ones in place, and popped the center pumpkin with a Stampin' Dimensional. 

For the top portion of the card, I used a piece of Stampin' Up! Halloween paper from loooooong ago. To show you HOW long ago, it is white on the other side and the weight of copy paper almost. For the purple portion, I sent it through the Big Shot inside the Chevron embossing folder. To spookify it a bit, I sponged Smoky Slate over the raised portions of the embossing.

After I adhered the designed piece and the purple embossed piece to the orange card base, I added a strip of black and white washi tape. I like the way the tape served as yet another Halloween-y layer. 

B O O !

Spookified

Smiles.

COZY CHRISTMAS

Two things are approaching very quickly: Christmas and quilt weather. Yup. We can deny it all we want, but they're on their way! So, we might as well embrace it.

I hope you hang onto your Stampin' Up! goodies, even after they retire. 'cause I certainly do! 

If I had gotten rid of my Triangle Punch when it retired, I would not have been able to make this cool card. The same can be said of the Designer Series Papers I used for the tree. Oh, and the embossing folder. Oh yeah. Also the pleated ribbon. 

Oh well. Please forgive me. I just love all of my Stampin' Up! yummies and grab whatever fits in with my vision of a project, whether current or retired.

I must mention that the cardstock and the punch -- the Banner Punch -- I used for the tree's trunk are definitely still in the catalog!

What a fun card to create! And, once you get your layout of designs figured out, it is simple to put together. Once it was embossed with the tight design, however, the colors of the tree seemed to have lost some of their brilliance and vibrancy. That's OK. I love it anyway.

To use current product to make this card, you could substitute the Tree Punch (page 167) and cut off the trunk. The only problem is the size. Using that punch would give you a much larger tree. Although maybe it would be cute using just the top two layers of the tree. I don't own that punch (GASP!) so I can't try it. 

Other current embossing folders that would give you a cute quilted look for your Christmas tree include Boho Chic, Elegant Dots and Tiny Triangles, all on page 174 of the big catalog Depending on the look you wish to achieve, you might also try Arrows, Chevron, Honeycomb, Modern Mosaic or Zig Zag. 

Current Designer Series Paper that would make a darling quilted Christmas tree are Merry Moments DSP (page 143 of the big catalog) or Season of Cheer (page 29 of the Holiday Catalog). I think Home for Christmas (page 9 of the Holiday Catalog) would not be conducive to creating the tree. The colors are too disparate and, for the most part, the design is too large. In my opinion.

Oh yes! The darling sentiment comes from the set Cozy Christmas on page 9 of the Holiday Catalog. That set has the earmarks of becoming a classic with so many possibilities. Of course, I will hang onto it FOREVER! 

Hey! I have an idea! If you would like to create your own quilted Christmas tree cards, why don't you order your supplies naming ME as your demonstrator! I would be honored and so thrilled if you would! As a matter of fact, I would love it if you would order through me for ANY of your papercrafting projects!

Try your hand at paper quilting. I guarantee you will fall in love, especially after you see the beautiful results!

Quilted 

Smiles.

FOCUS FRIDAY: RISING TO THE TOP

This little

LEAF

has done its

BEST.

It has risen to the

TOP

and 

SUCCEEDED.

So must

WE

learn from this little

LEAF

and 

NEVER

give up on

OURSELVES.

We cannot rise higher than our thought of ourselves.

- Orison Swett Marden -

Please honor me with a visit to

MY INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT.

Thoughtful

Smiles.

LOVE ALWAYS

I've done this in the past. But haven't done it recently. Randomly chose one of my stamp sets as my "assignment". 

When I grab for any of my stamp sets, they are all together in one place -- retired and current. So, to me, it doesn't matter whether it is current or not. If I randomly picked it, it's the one I am to use.

For this "assignment", I nabbed a Sale-A-Bration set, Banner Blast, a set that hasn't seen nearly enough ink. 

OK. So this is my assignment. I needed to base a card creation on this stamp set.

X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O

Opting for a black, white and red color scheme, I decided to go with a love theme. Cutting up a few pieces of Designer Series Papers, I went to work. 

And this is what I came up with. Pretty much outside the box for me!

I especially love the bottom DSP layer,, which is a very even pattern of cross stitched hearts. On this card, the way the hearts stick out only on the edges -- maybe it's just me?? -- but the design reminds me of an animal print. Kinda cute -- and WILD -- you know?

Of course, everyone understands the xoxoxoxo design on a love card. I added a few strips of Washi Tape too.

I hung my little love-ly banners on a black and white baker's twine wash line, popping each banner away from the card surface.

My "always" is also from an old stamp set, but, with the "love" hovering above it on the card, it was most fitting. I punched out the sentiment with the Washi Punch. LOVE that punch!

This was a great project to create on a day that I wasn't feeling just too creative!

What is one of your favorite classic color combinations to work with? What sorts of things do you make yourself do to wake up your muse -- on those days when it seems she must be on vacation?

Always

Smiles.