snow! snow! snow!

Is it snowy where you are? Here in Florida we won't see a flake of snow . . . and perhaps that is why I am completely OBSESSED with snowflakes! I love them! Cutting paper snowflakes that leave tiny bits of paper all over the floor, sparkly snowflakes that leave glitter all over the house, and of course STAMPY SNOWFLAKES to stamp on every surface I can find! As soon as I saw the Snowflakes clear stamp set, I had visions of all the crisp winter projects I could create! This card is created from Tami Mayberry's sketch over at Card Positioning Systems this week. I love to use bright crisp colors for my winter cards - and teal is always one of my go-to colors all year long. Do you have a go-to color? The color you find yourself reaching for, no matter the season or occasion? I'd love to know what it is!! Leave me a comment and let me know! Maybe it will challenge me to head somewhere other than teal! (but probably not!) ;)
On Wednesday check back here for a recycled gift bag idea, that would coordinate nicely with this card! (Yup, it's teal!)

card goodies: dark teal cardstock (Coordinations Cardstock) light teal cardstock, ink, glitter brads, fibers (Breeze from Close To My Heart) white pen (American Crafts)

Pick of the Harvest - Spotlight

As I mentioned yesterday, I am back with another creation using the very versatile Pick of the Harvest Digital Stamp Set.

As soon as I saw this image, I thought it would be perfect for the 'spotlight technique'. I printed two (2) copies of the main image, only coloring a small portion of one copy.

After I colored the area that I wanted to focus on, I cut and matted it using a couple circle punches. The un-colored image was cut out using an oval die and then matted on an orange scalloped oval.

The sentiment for this card, 'You're the pick of the harvest!' was punched out using a rounded tab punch, and then adhered to the side of the inner card. Because I used a clear card blank, you can see the sentiment when the card is closed as well.

Please feel free to stop by my personal blog for more details on the card and products used.

Thanks so much for joining me this week. I will be back next week with more projects, as will the other November Guest Artist, Laura Williams.

'Happy Fall' Y'all!!

Since Fall is my favorite season of the year, I thought I would start off my Guest Artist position here at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps with this 'Happy Fall' card...

I chose Pick of the Harvest Digital Stamp Set for this card because the little girl reminds me a bit of my own daughter. She is on the petite side, so most things are a 'get on your tippy toes' reach away; just like the apples are for the girl in this image.

This digital stamp set comes with three great sentiments, so for this card I hand-cut the "Happy Fall" sentiment and matted it with coordinating patterned paper. For extra depth I used foam tape to adhere the sentiment to the card.

I hope you will stop by my blog post today for more details on the card above.

See you tomorrow with another card that uses this same set, but in a different way.

Harvest Blessings

Hello! I am so happy to be here blogging at Sweet 'n Sassy this month! I have a bright autumn card to share with you today. I used the digital Harvest Fruits set to create this project. Here are a couple of tips, funny little facts, and info about this card:

-I printed out the images onto white cardstock, and colored the cornucopia using Prismacolor colored pencils. To add some texture, and dull the bright white cardstock a little, after coloring and cutting out the picture and sentiment, I inked the edges of the rectangles in Bamboo colored ink, and then dabbed the whole thing on top of my ink pad. (It's a little scary to take your carefully colored image and blot ink all over it, but thankfully I think it worked out okay!!!)

-The ribbon I used was recycled from a package I received. It was the right color, but it was too thick - so I just cut it. I didn't measure or anything, just sliced it right in half! (SCARY for a girl who likes to measure and be exact, like me!) I think it gave the card a little more of a rustic look, just what I wanted.

-To create the cutouts in the bottom corners, I slid the corners into a small circle punch. Line it up as you want it, and PUNCH! To make my fancy corners show up a little better, I swished the bottom of my card through a Chocolate brown ink pad.

Thanks for letting me chatter on with you today! I'm looking forward to sharing some more with you soon!!! (I have some fun winter projects to share!!!)

(card goodies: Harvest Fruits digi stamps, Daisy D's patterned paper, Close To My Heart ink)

Happy 2nd Birthday Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps!

It's time to celebrate!

The Sunbeams are now available or preorder! You can read more about them HERE.

What better way to inspire you with these adorable new stamps than with a 1-day Sunbeams Blog Hop!

Stop by each of the DT blogs to see what they've created with The Sunbeams, then head over to Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps to get your own! They're only available for a limited time!

Ceal Pritchett
Chris Dickinson
Janette Olen
Korin Sutherland
Leah Cornelius
Lisa Hjulberg
Lorie Souther
Nancy Brown
Sandy Domelle
Teresa Kline

HAPPY HOPPING!

And while you are picking up your Sunbeams, don't forget to check out our HUGE discontinued stamps 70% off sale!!

Guest Designers for November!

We have two new Guest Designers for November and you are going to love all that they will be sharing. Be sure to check out their personal blogs because they are full

of wonderful inspiration!

Our first Guest Designer is the super sweet and talented, Laura Williams.

Hi! My name is Laura Williams. I am so happy to be here designing with Sweet 'n Sassy this month! I live in sunny Florida with my sweet husband, my lively and fun four-year old son, and a brand new baby boy. When I'm not playing with my boys, doing laundry, dishes, and feeding a newborn, you will probably find me at my desk creating cards!!

I have always loved art, and have been creating art since I was a little girl. In college, I majored in Art Education, and spent a few years teaching preschool and elementary school before my oldest son was born. Since then I have stayed home, and although I miss the classroom from time to time - I LOVE staying home! (And it allows me to sneak in some creative time during the day!)

I have found that my style in cardmaking is pretty similar to my taste in decorating, clothing and other artistic mediums . . . pretty crisp and clean, without a lot of clutter. I love bright colors, bold patterns, and clean graphic lines. One of my favorite color combinations is black, white, and red. I love to wear those colors, and create in those colors too! I also love black and white photography, and I spent much of my time in college in the darkroom developing my own photographs.

After having children, I started spending less time on messy art, (like painting and film developing) and more time on papercrafting (although I had been stamping and scrapbooking for YEARS in addition to all that MESSY stuff!) Since becoming serious about card-making, I have been published in CARDS, Paper Crafts, Simple Scrapbooks, CardMaker, and Scrapbook Trends. I am currently on the design team at the Card Positioning Systems blog, and at Apron Strings Designs.

One of the things I love most about the online crafting community is the instant inspiration that we find in each other's work. When I need a jolt of creative energy, it's as easy as checking out a blog, website, or gallery and I almost always find something that sparks an idea. I hope that you will find a spark in something that I share with you this month! Creating art is one of the best parts of my life, and I am thrilled to share it with you! You can also find my work (and ramblings) on my blog, at http://www.lauralooloo.blogspot.com/

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Our next Guest Designer this month is the fun and crafty, Alicia Ekermans, from Sheetload of Cards!

Hello to all of the great Sweet ‘n Sassy fans out there! My name is Alicia Ekermans (a.k.a. crafty_al) and I am thrilled to be one of the guest artists on the SNSS blog this month.

I am currently a stay-at-home-mom to my 3.5 year old daughter, Presleigh and as of October 31st I have been married to my husband, Paul, for 10 years. To make some extra money, of which I spend most of it on new stamps, papers, inks, tools, etc., I am a contract graphic designer for a couple local companies.

For a long time now I have considered myself ‘crafty’. From cross-stitching with my mom as a child, to taking my very first scrapbooking class in 1999, to my cardmaking (and craft-supply-buying) addiction I have now. Being able to get up to my craft room and create is like therapy for me.

Thanks so much to Korin and the rest of the wonderful team at Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps. It is such an honor to have been chosen as a guest designer for your team and I look forward to sharing my creations with you throughout the month.

Thanksgiving Place Setting

Well people, today is my last posting as one of SNSS Guest Designers for October. I am so thankful to have been given this opportunity and I thank all of you who have stopped by to visit. I also appreciate the sweet comments. Betty Wright will be back before the month is over to share some more of her wonderful creations.

I decided to give you something other than a card as my final project for SNSS. So today I have a place setting to share with you that would be a nice addition to any Thanksgiving table.

The stamp set that I used to create this project is Thankful for You created by Deedee Anderson. It comes with the adorable pilgrim people you see here and many sentiments appropriate for Thanksgiving and for showing thanks to others and God.

Here is a closer view of the two place cards and the napkin rings. I colored the images with Copic Markers and created my own place cards by folding a 4 X 3.5 square in half to form the card.

The green cardstock is from Bazzill and the DP is from K & Co's Fall collection by Tim Coffey. The silk leaves were purchased from Michael's and so was the orange twine. The buttons are from one of the MFT collections.

The names were created by using Rub-Ons by Gin X. Nesties were used to create the napkin rings circle and scalloped circles.

For one last look, here is a close up of the napkin ring. My family gets together each year to celebrate Thanksgiving and I think this set would be perfect for each of us to have at our dinner table!

Thanks again so much for allowing me to be your Guest this month here at SNSS. I hope that you will still stop by and visit me at my blog called My Bucket Overfloweth. May God Bless all of you with a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, and may your bucket always be overflowing!