Thanksgiving Card

On Thanksgiving Day four years ago, I gave birth to my youngest daughter, Clarice. We had an absolutely awesome home birth!  We also missed Thanksgiving dinner with my family.  Luckily for me, there were plenty of leftovers from my mom and dad's house. I remember the food tasting so good.  I was famished from the birthing marathon I had just been through.  It's a great thing to have given birth at Thanksgiving.

There are many things to be thankful for.  I am most thankful for my family!   Every night there is always something going on at our house - someone is hungry, someone has homework, someone is fighting, someone is hurt or sick, someone is entering puberty (now there's a new chapter to add to my mothering book!), someone is crying, someone is laughing, etc. Mothering is absolutely exhausting at times.  But my kids are SO worth it!  I learn more from them about life than I learned from my own.  Each one of them brings different blessings to our family.

Here's my card to go along with that theme. I'm entering it in the SUO Challenge.

Stamps: Gently Falling, Woodgrain, Grateful Greetings
Paper: Bravo Burgundy, Very Vanilla
Ink: Crumb Cake, Bravo Burgundy, Cajun Craze, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Artichoke Denim ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stamping!

Susan

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A Fall Card

Fall is just about over in PA!  I woke up to snow on the ground this morning.  When I went to fetch the paper I noticed that the UPS man left a Stampin' Up! box on the front step and it was sopping wet with snow!!!  He usually put boxes up on the porch.  It was only a box of catalogs and they were fine.  Two of our maple trees haven't even lost their leaves yet, so I know we've got a few warmer days coming before the winter snow blankets our lawn.

Here's a card that the ladies made during my Fall stamp camp.

I copied this card layout from Lynn Pratt from Stamp-n-Design.  She posted her card on Stampin' Connection, a web site for demonstrators.  This card features the Spice Cake designer series paper and coordinating fabric and the Gently Falling stamp set.  The sentiment is from Petite Pairs.  The faux stitching was made using the mat pack and paper piercing tool, then the stitching was drawn using the fine tip of the Soft Suede marker.  It is sponged with Soft Suede ink.


Stamps: Gently Falling, Petite Pairs
Paper: Pool Party, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Spice Cake designer series paper
Ink: Pool Party, Soft Suede
Accessories: Scallop Edge punch, 1" Circle punch,  1 1/4" Circle punch, mat pack, paper piercing tool, Spice Cake designer fabric, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stamping!

Susan

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Two Fall Challenges

Today's project combines two challenges, the Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge to IMPRESS (embossing folder, heat embossing, letterpress plate) and the SUO Challenge  to use fall colors.  As part of my Fall Stamp Camp, I had participants make a candle.  This one uses different colors than in my camp and is also a taller pillar.  This way, I can show off more fall colors!

I stamped the leaves onto white tissue paper (waxy side up - don't know why - someone recommended it) then cut them out leaving about 1/8" tissue paper on the perimeter.  You don't have to be precise about your cutting. 

I used a More Mustard ink pad and Cajun Craze and Early Espresso markers for the maple leaves.
I used the Pear Pizzazz ink and Always Artichoke and Soft Suede markers for the oak leaves.
I used More Mustard and Early Espresso for the aspen leaves.

Be careful to clean the stamp after you stamp each leaf, so you don't contaminate your ink pads.

I used a small bit of adhesive on the center of each leaf (waxy side facing candle) to hold the leaves in place.  Then I wrapped a piece of waxed paper around the entire candle. (The width of a piece fits nicely around the candle to give you a "handle.")  Next, using a heat tool, heat the candle until the image gets glossy and the tissue paper melts into the candle.  Be careful not to overheat the candle or the wax will start dripping.  I heated one leaf at a time.  Reposition the waxed paper as needed to get each leaf to adhere to the candle. Watch Dawn Griffith's video to see the process in action.  Then I embellished the candle with fabric, ribbon and a tag. Note to self: These candles would make great gifts for teachers!

Stamps: Gently Falling, Fabulous Phrases
Paper: white tissue paper, Very Vanilla
Ink: More Mustard and Pear Pizzazz ink, Cajun Craze, Always Artichoke, Soft Suede and Early Espresso markers
Accessories: heat tool, waxed paper, Spice Cake designer fabric, Crumb Cake taffeta ribbon, hemp twine, Tag punch

We've got a busy week for the Carlson family.  Fall swim lessons start today.  It's only twice a week for five weeks.  It's right after school.  So I've got to start cooking supper at lunch time if we're going to eat on time.  Good thing is that Bradley's cross country practice is over at the same time that swimming ends.  Kim's workshop is tomorrow morning and I'm ready for it.

On a sad note, my Aunt Carm passed away over the weekend.  She's one of my dad's nine siblings, and the first to pass away.  She had cancer.  She's finally reunited with her husband who passed away in 1992.  I know she's not suffering anymore.  Please say a prayer for her nine brothers and sisters, six children and 14 grandchildren that she left behind.

Happy Stamping!

Susan

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Clean and Simple Fall Cards

Since I'm in the business of making cards, you might assume that I have a stash of cards ready to send at a moment's notice.  Not so!  I needed a few cards to send to a few friends.  Here's what I came up with:

These cards were super-easy to create.  I stamped on a 4 x 5 1/4" piece of Very Vanilla, then used a Soft Suede marker to draw a border.  I popped that piece with dimesionals on a Very Vanilla card base.

Wow!  I created two cards, photographed and uploaded them, and wrote this post all before noon.  I'm going to enter these cards in a clean and simple challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  Now, I hope I don't miss the mail carrier!

 
Stamps: Gently Falling, Short & Sweet, Thoughts and Prayers
Paper: Very Vanilla
Ink: Old Olive, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso, Soft Suede marker
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stamping!

Susan

Addendum:  To hand draw the border I used a piece of cardboard from a dsp pack as seen in Dawn Olchefske's video.

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Combined Color Lab/Stamping 411 Challenges

One of the perks of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is that I get to order from their catalogs a full month before they go live.  As soon as I saw the Gently Falling stamp set, I knew I had to add it to my stamp collection.  Then after I saw the Color Lab Challenge I knew the Gently Falling set would be perfect with the colors Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Suede and a touch of More Mustard!  I checked out the  Saturday Sketch Challenge from Stamping 411 to put my creation together.  Here it is:

Hmm, wonder if the Color Lab challenge design team had the Spice Cake designer paper in mind when they chose those colors. 

I stamped so many of these gentle leaves that I decided to make another more simplified card:

Stamps: Gently Falling (upcoming Holiday Mini!)
Paper: Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Suede More Mustard, Spice Cake dsp
Ink: Pear Pizzazz, More Mustard, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: Stampin' dimensionals

My youngest daughter Clarice has had a fever for the last two days.  She's getting better now, but had a LONG three hour nap this afternoon.  I'll probably be up late with her tonight.  And now my six year-old says she doesn't feel well.  I'm sure they'll be feeling better soon!

Happy Stamping!

Susan

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