red carpet challenge

. . . and so, stamp-a-faire 2015 must come to an end . . . left with memories and a mess . . . and VOLUMES of inspiration to draw from during the coming weeks and months (that's how long it will take me to try all of the tricks and tips the ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS design team has shared over the weekend!) . . . farewell until next year . . . oh wait - make-it-Monday is just next week  ;)

 

 

 

my creations

 

 

 

 

 

this is a "good " kind of mess  :)

 

 

 

 

 

more color, please . . .

I used this project to increase my use of color - I love color and pattern, but I find myself sticking to three main colors, forgetting to use other shades of the same colors, etc . . . a special card to welcome a beautiful new granddaughter  :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

stamps:  papertrey ink

papers:  papertrey ink

die:  spellbinders

embellishments:  button - papertrey ink; embroidery thread

 

friday night stamp-a-faire 2015

papertrey ink's stamp-a-faire is DEFINITELY the stamping highlight of my year (right behind their monthly releases)!!!  this year I did some much needed pre-planning by organizing a specific list of cards to create, centralizing a collection of ideas I've been wanting to try, and re-organizing my tools & supplies. I did all of this over the past few weeks and it REALLY paid off - less time figuring out what I was going to create, less time searching for supplies, and WAY less mess!  + I only had one project I set aside, but then was able to re-do for the "make it work" challenge . . . so after dinner Friday night - I headed upstairs with my laptop and was "ready to roll" (literally)!

 

 

my "creativity on wheels!"

 

 

unconventional materials challenge

MASCULINE BIRTHDAY CARD:  while I was rummaging thru all of my husband's hardware supplies in the garage, I thought I could just throw a handful of small screws, washers & nuts in a shaker card and call it done, but that seemed way to easy . . . my husband is legally blind, so I appreciate these larger sentiments from papertrey . . . happy birthday, honey!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

stamps:  papertrey ink

papers:  stampin' up, papertrey ink, pebbles

die:  papertrey ink

embellishments:  wood accent - stampin' up; baker's twine - hemptique; button - my stash; caster cup - our junk drawer!

bridal challenge

PACKAGE TOPPER/GIFT BAG TAG:  I didn't really need a wedding card, but I do love a fun oversized tag on my kraft gift bags AND there's just nothing quite like white ink on vellum!  (the butterfly was cut from a scrap of vellum I stamped in white years ago for my daughter's wedding invitations.)  glitter and a few clear sequins added some sparkle . . .

stamps:  papertrey ink, stampin' up
papers:  stampin' up, papertrey ink
dies:  sizzix, papertrey ink
embellishments:  glitter - stampin' up; sequins - avery elle; tulle - scrap from my stash

 

make it work challenge

ANOTHER MINI BIRTHDAY CARD - never can have too many of these:  I had planned on whipping up an elegant black lace creation, but gave that idea up pretty quickly!  Wanting to do something other than flowers, cherries seemed the perfect theme for this color combo and was also a great opportunity to use my gelatos  . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

stamps:  papertrey ink

papers:  papertrey ink, scrap

dies:  papertrey ink

embellishments:  ribbons - offray; baker's twine - pebbles in my pocket; gelatos 

runway challenge

MINI BIRTHDAY CARD FOR MY STASH @ WORK:  I'm not a gold person - I prefer silver every time, but this jacket was so gorgeous . . .  had to try to create something . . .  even if it was outside of my comfort zone.

It was time for me to finally go to bed last night when that little gold dot I was trying to adhere flew across my table - I was too tired to search for it in ALL OF MY MESS, luckily I had another one (wonder how many months it will be until I find it :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

stamps:  papertrey ink

papers:  papertrey ink, watercolor paper

dies:  papertrey ink

embellishments: vellum - stampin' up; gold dots - eyelet outlet; watercolors - prang

 

mix+match challenge

MINI BIRTHDAY CARD FOR MY STASH AT WORK:  these little scraps have been sitting on my table for weeks . . . and now the perfect opportunity to turn them into a cute little birthday card . . .
I'm a girl who LOVES color and pattern, so I'm feelin' happy-go-lucky with this challenge  :)

stamp:  papertrey ink
papers:  papertrey ink, my mind's eye, cosmo cricket, october afternoon
die:  papertrey ink
embellishments:  clip - making memories; felt flower - stampin' up; mini brad - making memories; baker's twine - my stash

pins & needles challenge

NEXT ON MY LIST:  a special card for a co-worker who is retiring at the end of the year . . . she is anxious about the realities of retirement, but is looking forward to crocheting to her heart's content  :)
I've been loving Melissa's use of gingham, so I pulled out my background stamp and then I dug thru my stash of older sewing stamps and came up with this awesome pattern stamp - perfect for this project . . . I've been sewing for one of my new little granddaughters - the machine was already out, my pile of trims was still on the table, so I just transferred part of my sewing projects to this sweet card . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



stamps:  papertrey ink, stampin' up
papers:  papertrey ink, american crafts
die:  papertrey ink
embellishments:  ribbon - stampin' up; buttons - papertrey ink

accessories challenge

JUST FOR FUN:  here it is, almost September, and we still have at least 4-5 more weeks of hot weather ahead of us here in California - as usual, I'm looking forward to FALL!!!  I think this "apple prints" set is so cute (and underused).  I stitched a bright little apple pin to wear this fall . . . apples are grown just up the hill from us, which means it won't be long until we'll be attending the annual Johnny Appleseed day celebration with the yummiest apple concoctions ever!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

stamps:  papertrey ink

paper:  stampin' up

felt:  papertrey ink

dies:  papertrey ink

embellishments:  button - my stash; baker's twine - pebbles in my pocket; embroidery thread - dmc; pin backer - my stash

threads challenge

SUNNY BIRTHDAY CARD:  I love using baker's twine, so I've collected tons of fun colors . . . Danielle has so many great ideas!  I grabbed my mini stapler and used it to attach the birthday sentiment (I'll have to revisit all of the stamp-a-faire videos until I've tried each of the design team's techniques - like Laura's thread "nests," etc)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

stamps:  stampin; up

papers:  papertrey ink, stampin' up

dies:  papertrey ink

embellishments:  baker's twine - pebbles in my pocket; washi tape - stampin' up; mini staples - stampin' up

patterns challenge

I'm beginning Papertrey Ink's Stamp-a-faire this weekend with a LONG list of cards I need to make . . . hope I can cross a few off my list!

THANK YOU CARD:  my supervisor has been reassigned to another area of our office (boo, hoo) so I wanted to make her a special card, in her favorite colors.
Of course, the design team had an abundance of fabulous inspiration to choose from . . . I used Dawn's layout for my project . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

stamps:  papertrey ink

papers:  papertrey ink

dies:  papertrey ink

embellishments:  rainstones - papertrey ink

oven fresh accents

I did it!  I completed all of the challenges . . . Melissa's "Earthquake Cake" is gone . . . so I guess the party's over  :( 

It will probably take me a week to clean up, but I sure enjoyed creating to my heart's content!

stamps:  papertrey ink, rubber stampede

papers:  stampin' up

die:  sizzix

embellishments:  glass beads & Suze Weinberg's gold ultra thick embossing powder from my stash

rolled dough designs

I've used the paperclay before, so I was interested in trying Melissa's technique with two layers of velllum . . . and yes, it oozed out all over the place when I ran it through my big kick, but it was very easy to clean up.  I really like the texture it creates - it seemed "winterish" to me . . .

stamps:  papertrey ink

papers:  stampin' up

die:  papertrey ink

embellishments:  ribbon & bells - stampin' up

sugar coated

Happy Birthday to our little sweetie cake . . . aka "cupcake queen" and "baker extraordinaire!"  She's a lovely young woman/soon to be mother (and that's going to make ME a grandma :)

stamps:  wplus9, papertrey ink
papers:  stampin' up, my mind's eye
dies:  papertrey ink, wplus9
embellishments:  washi tape - smash; dazzling diamonds glitter - stampin' up

"scent-sational!"

Oh, what fun . . . it was soooo easy to make this scented embossing mix - I used my beloved "apple pie spice" and this little gingerbread man's heart smells heavenly without even scratching it!  Can't wait to repeat this technique with some pumpkin pie spice on my Thanksgiving projects  :)

papers:  stampin' up

dies:  sizzix, papertrey ink

embellishments:  button - papertrey ink, divine twine, felt from my stash

gallon, quart, pint

Co-workers have decorated their nursery in an ocean theme for their 1st baby - and they don't want to know if it's a boy or girl - they just want to be surprised!  I'm hoping for a GIRL  :) 

stamps:  papertrey ink, stampin' up

papers:  stampin' up

dies:  papertrey ink, stampin' up

punch:  stampin' up

breakfast bake & take

There were too many fabulous color combinations to choose from - I think I'll refer back to them for future projects . . . check out this button - isn't it awesome???

stamps:  papertrey ink

papers:  stampin' up

die:  my favorite things

button:  papertrey ink

limited ingredients challenge

yes, this was a CHALLENGE!!!

(no buttons, no ribbon, no twine - yikes!)

stamps:  papertrey ink, my favorite things, wplus9

papers:  stampin' up

dies:  papertrey ink, wplus9

embellishments:  none  :(

sprinkle of salt

                                       

Isn't this fun!!!

(bet I'm not the only one with a big, fat MESS at their house :)  This is an old Stampin' Up! set, but it seemed so perfect for this technique . . .

stamps:  stampin' up

papers:  stampin' up, artist's loft watercolor paper

die:  papertrey ink

ribbon:  may arts