Maryland Stampers Featured Blogger!

Welcome to my blog -- I'm very honored to be this weeks' featured blogger at Maryland Stampers!  My particular challenge was to take a set from the Stampin' Up! Holiday mini that I would not normally use and make five cards with it, so I chose the Let It Snow suite.  My area is usually a more vintage, watercolored look, so trying to make snowmen fit this category was challenging.

On my first card, I completely let go and flew out of my comfort zone -- I worked my design completely around a sentiment.  I hyperventilated the whole time about simplicity.  I may have overworked it some, but I like how it came out.  The wreath is from the All Around Wreath dies, cut from Pool Party and Coastal Cabana, then layered over each other.  I also cut out a wreath from Whisper White, but keeping the center white area that you'd normally toss away. On that, I stamped my sentiment from the Let It Snow set in Real Read, then fitted and glued the sentiment into the layered wreaths, giving it a seamless look.

The background snowflakes are cut out from Silver glimmer paper, using the die from Christmas Layers.  Let me say that I love these dies!  Very useful when you need some interest and texture behind your image.  I cut two, then adhered them behind the wreath, gluing a small blue sequin in the centers of the snowflakes and sprinkled them over the wreath, along with some "berries" punched from Real Red and Cherry Cobbler.  A Cherry Cobbler bow anchors the wreath -- it's made from the old seam binding, which is tragically retired.

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted

Stamps: Snowman Seasons

Paper:  Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Cherry Cobbler, Let It Snow DSP, Silver glimmer paper 

Ink:  Real Red 

Accessories:   Big Shot, All Around Wreath dies, Christmas Layers dies, small round hole punch, Iridescent sequins assortment, Cherry Cobbler seam binding (retired) 

Here is my second card for Maryland Stampers.  This card came together quite simply, and I like the lightness of the whole.  There is just a little bit of watercoloring on the snowman and his winter wear, as well as the carrot nose and coal buttons from the Let It Snow embellishments set.  For a bit of horizontal interest, I stamped the diagonal stripes from Tiny Keepsakes, then cut it out with a die from the Stitched Nested Labels.  A little sentiment banner and a silver glimmer snowflake cloud  completes the look!

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted 

Stamps:  Snowman Season, Tiny Keepsakes 

Paper:  Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Flirty Flamingo, Silver glimmer paper, Let It Snow DSP 

Ink:  Black Memento, Coastal Cabana, Flirty Flamingo 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Christmas Layers dies, Stitched Nested Labels dies, Let It Snow embellishments, Dimenionals, Aquapainter, Snowfall Accents puff paint, heat tool

I love the feel of this card!  The tree was from the In The Woods dies, which first appeared in last years' Holiday Mini, and was luckily put into the 2019-2020 Annual Catalog.  I'm very much in love with the tree.  I cut it out of iridescent Glimmer paper and sponged the edges with Flirty Flamingo.  The glimmer paper takes color really easily if you sponge it on.

Mr. Snowman was stamped on Whisper White, then painted with Modge Podge (Plaid), sprinkled with Ice stampin' glitter and cut out using the Snowman Builder Punch.  Mr. Snowman was further accessorized with coal buttons and stick arms from the Let It Snow accessories kit.

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted 

Stamps: Snowman Season 

Paper:  Whisper White, Flirty Flamingo, Coastal Cabana, Let It Snow DSP, Iridescent glimmer paper 

Ink:  Black Memento, Flirty Flamingo, Cherry Cobbler, Shaded Spruce, Coastal Cabana, Pumpkin Pie 

Accessories:  Big Shots, In The Woods framelits, Stitched Nested Labels dies, Snowman Builder punch, Let It Snow accessories kit. Dimenionals, Aquapainter, sponges, Ice Stampin' Glitter, Modge Podge (Plaid), Flirty Flamingo ruched ribbon

I love this dancing snowman!  I combined the snow globe from Still Scenes and a glittery snowman from the Let It Snow DSP.  I used a carrot nose from the Let It Snow embellishment kit and glued random snowflakes and sequins from the Snowflake sequins assortment in the background of the snowglobe.  The corners are anchored with Toile Tidings glitter enamel dots.  The filigree on the base is sponged with Pool Party, for a soft look.

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted

Stamps:  Toile Christmas 

Paper:  Whisper White, Pool Party, Shaded Spruce, Let It Snow DSP 

Ink:  Shaded Spruce, Pool Party

Accessories:  Big Shot, Snow Globe Scenes dies, Toile Tidings glitter enamel dots, Let It Snow embellishment kit, Snowfall sequin assortment, Dimensionals, Snow Globe shaker domes

This card makes me happy, with my favorite dancing snowman.  He is stamped and lightly watercolored with Coastal Cabana to create shadows and I added a carrot nose, coal button and stick arms using the Let It Snow embellishment kit.  The trees are fussy cut from the Let It Snow DSP and the ones on the ends are popped up with Dimensionals.  The snowflakes are cut from iridescent Glimmer paper using the Christmas Layers dies, and there is a strip of the same Glimmer paper at the bottom.  Snowfall Accents puff paint is used to give some texture to the whole.

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted 

Stamps:  Snowman Season

Paper:  Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Let It Snow DSP,  iridescent Glimmer paper 

Ink:  Black Memento, Coastal Cabana, Flirty Flamingo 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Christmas Layers dies, Let It Snow embellishment kit, Snowfall Accents puff pain, Dimensionals, Aquapainter, White seam binding (sadly retired, although any white ribbon will do!), heat gun

White on White

I played with this layout a bit last year, but never was really happy with it.  It turns out this little snowman was the missing piece!  Enjoying the snow, he is watercolored with a streak of Coastal Cabana and his carrot nose, twig arms and coal buttons are from the Let It Snow accessories kit.

The fir tree is cut using the smaller, solid tree, from the In The Woods framelits dies out of white Glimmer paper.  To give the tree a feeling of depth, I cut two of the tree, then cut one of the trees up the center.  This I mounted to the back of the whole tree, with dimensionals and curled the "branches" with the edge of my bone folder.

The bare white trees were also cut using the two bare tree dies from the In The Woods framelit dies.  The little snowflakes are from last years' Santa's Signpost framelits dies, which is sadly retired.  The picket fence is an old Martha Stewart punch that's been sitting in a bin for ages -- it comes in handy sometimes!  The larger white piece of card stock is embossed using the Softly Falling folder -- also, sadly retired.

Once I had all my elements cut, I assembled them onto the Softly Falling layer.  Yes, a little labor intensive, but once you have all the pieces it's a snap!

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted 

Stamps:  Let It Snow 

Paper:  Whisper White, Real Red, white Glimmer paper 

Ink:  Black Memento, Real Red, Flirty Flamingo, Coastal Cabana 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Santa's Signpost and In The Woods framelits dies, picket fence punch (Martha Stewart), Softly Falling embossing folder, Let It Snow accessories kit, Dimenionals, Aquapainter

Christmas Cardinal

Who doesn't love a bright red cardinal in the snow?  This image is from the Toile Christmas set, which is one of my favorites out of the new SU! Holiday mini catalog.  It pairs perfectly with the Toile Tidings DSP and the Christmas Cardinal dies.

The key to the cardinal is in the coloring.  I watercolor using an Aquapainter and take the ink straight off the ink pads.  The whole cardinal, other than the beak, leg and eye are lightly washed in Real Red.  Shadows are painted with Cherry Cobbler and solidified with a bit of Merry Merlot.  The beak is layered Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie.  Highlights are added with a white get pen, which makes everything pop!

All products used are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted 

Stamps:  Toile Christmas 

Paper:  Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Toile Tidings DSP 

Ink:  Black Memento, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Merry Merlot, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Pear Pizzazz, Garden Green, Soft Suede, Early Espresso 

Accessories:  Bit Shot, Christmas Cardinal dies, Deco Labels framelits, Real Red woven textile ribbon, Metallic brads, Aquapainter, Dimensionals, Ticket-Corner punch

Christmas Shaker Card!

This shaker card was made with a variety of items from the new Stampin' Up! Holiday mini catalog, available September 4!  The Snow Globe Scenes dies come with not only the die cut to perfectly fit the Snow Globe Shaker Domes, but also with dies that will fit into the shaker domes themselves -- a cabin in the winter snow, tree outlines, church buildings, deer, polar bear.  As you can tell, they are perfect for layering in your snow globe!

For my snow globe, I cut two from the tree shape -- one out of Garden Green and one in Pear Pizzazz.  Set those aside for a moment, and cut one of the church with the steeple and one of the lower church out of Whisper White, then cut another set out of So Saffron for the windows.  Layer the So Saffron pieces behind the white, so that your church windows glow, then using Dimenionals, pop the church/steeple over the low building.  Using the Snowfall Accents Puff Paint and your heat gun, add some snow to the roofline of your church.

Now that you've got all your shaker pieces cut out, you can start to assemble them.  Cut apart the Pear Pizzazz trees and discard one.  The other two, paint a light coat of Mod Podge (Plaid) and sprinkle with a little of the Ice Stampin' Glitter from the holiday mini.  Then add some Snowfall Accents puff paint to the edges of your trees and heat carefully with your heat gun.  The paint will puff up immediately -- it's very cool!  Then do the same steps (Mod Podge, Ice glitter and puff paint) to the Garden Green trees and at the "base" of the trees.  Using Dimenionals, pop the Garden Green trees in front of the Pear Pizzazz trees.

Using one more set of Dimenionals, layer the church over the little snow covered forest.  Taking a 3" x 3" piece of white, stamp the snow globe from the Still Scenes stamp set in Black Memento, then adhere your tiny scene inside the stamp snow globe outline.  

From experience, I can tell you that your need to put your shaker contents on the center of the snow globe scene before you attach the snow globe dome.  I didn't the first time and tried to get the glitter/sequins in through the top of the dome.  No bueno -- glitter herpes everywhere, sorry to say!  A truly frightening moment.  Any way, you use the snow globe outline shape from the dies to cut a hole in your DSP, so that your snow globe will poke through.  It's also worth a moment to say that the domes have adhesive on the front and back, so that you'll make sort of a card stock "sandwich" with the dome in the center.

The wreaths are from the All Around Wreath dies.  Cut one from Garden Green and one from Shaded Spruce then layer them.  Add some "berries" with the punchies from a small hole punch, in Real Red and Cherry Cobbler, and add tiny snowflakes from the Snowflake Sequins assortment here and there. Add a pretty bow and a sentiment from Toile Christmas and you're done!

I hope you enjoy!

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted 

Stamps:  Toile Christmas 

Paper:  Whisper White, So Saffron, Pear Pizzazz, Garden Green, Shaded Spruce, Toile Tidings DSP 

Ink:  Black Memento, Shaded Spruce 

Accessories: Big Shot, All Around Wreaths dies, Snow Globe Scenes dies, Ticket Corner punch, Real Red woven satin ribbon, Snow Globe Shaker Domes, Snowfall Accents puff paint, heat gun, Dimenionals, Snowflake sequins, Ice Stampin' glitter, small round hole punch, Iridescent sequin assortment, Real Red 1" ruched ribbon, metallic brads                      

Christmas Toile

Pretty, pretty cardinal!  This is one the new sets from the SU! Holiday mini, which will be available September 4.  When purchasing a major new stamp set, you've got not only the option to buy the stamp set/die cut bundle for a discount, but you can also buy the whole suite of products all at once -- ribbon, die cuts, stamps and all the accessories.  It's a fantastic way to get all the coordinating Stampin' Up! product at one time.

This beautiful little pretty was watercolored, using a white gel pen to capture highlights.  The wreath is cut from Garden Green and Shaded Spruce using the Christmas layers dies, then layered.  It's then decorate with tiny white snowflakes from the Snowflake sequins assortment and small hole punches from Real Red and Cherry Cobbler card stock.

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted

Stamps:  Toile Christmas 

Paper:  Very Vanilla, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Shaded Spruce, Toile Tidings DSP 

Ink:  Memento Black, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Pumpkin Pie 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Christmas Cardinal & All Around Wreaths dies, metallic brads, Dimensionals, white gel pen, 1/8" circle punch, Snowflake sequins, Real Red woven satin ribbon, Ticket-Corner punch

The Heartbreak of Glitter Herpes...

This is a new set from the SU! Holiday mini -- Still Scenes.  The set also comes bundled with the matching set of die cuts, called Snowglobe Scenes.  I paired the bundle with Stampin' Up! Snowfall puff paint and the iridescent Snowflake sequins, for the shaker material.  This was my first (finished) attempt at a shaker card.  Trust me, the road was long and glitter covered.

The puff paint is really the star of this card.  You squeeze it on your image, then heat it with your heat tool to activate.  I just kept adding to it to get the "depth" of snow that I wanted.  

Also, after several false starts, I figured out that if I wanted a Coastal Cabana background, I needed to stamp onto Coastal Cabana and once onto Whisper White.  Trying to watercolor the Coastal Cabana onto white card stock isn't going to work very well!  So, I used a Soft Suede marker to color the leafless trees behind the house.  That's all.  Then I went to the same image that I'd stamped on white and watercolored the house, evergreen, bush and front yard, adding accents with a white gel pen, then fussy cutting the whole image out.  The the cut out watercolored image got carefully glued on top of the image on the Coastal Cabana.  I added the puff paint, heated it, and voila!  Cute snowy house with the Coastal Cabana background.

Now for the tricky part -- the dome and the glitter.  Stampin' Up was great in that the Snow Globe Scenes die cuts give you one that exactly cuts out the snow globe shape, as well as the perfect shaker dome.  After heartbreak and a severe case of glitter herpes, I discovered that you do not attach the dome in any way, then try to feed in the shaker materials.  The dome goes on crooked and there was too much shaker material -- looked liked the plows had come through after a huge blizzard.  I had to start completely over.  The second time around, I piled what looked like a small amount of shaker stuff in the middle of the image, then carefully attached the dome. Worked like a charm!

By the way, a word to the wise.  The domes have sticky strip on both sides of the dome, so I attached the bottom edge of the dome to the Coastal Cabana (with said shaker material safely sealed away!), then used the dome-shaped die cut in the Let It Snow dsp.  I pulled the paper backing off the sticky strip around the top of the dome, settled the dsp into place and affixed it to the whole finished dome.

All product is Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise note 

Stamps:  Still Scenes, Toile Christmas 

Paper:  Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Tranquil Tide, Real Red, Let It Snow dsp, silver glimmer pape 

Ink:  Black Memento, Tranquil Tide, Real Read, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Soft Suede, Garden Green 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Snow Globe Scenes dies, 1" Real Red ruched ribbon, Dimenionals, Aquapainter, Snowflake Sequins, Ice Stampin' glitter, metallic brads, Snow Globe Shaker Domes

Free as a Bird, part 2

Did you ever have one of those days when you started out going one direction, and you ended up in totally different place?  Thinking that you wanted one card, one set, one layout and did a total 360?  Well, that was my afternoon!  

I really wanted to work on coming up with a good layout for a 2-step stampin' project with To a Wild Rose.  I stamped.  I die-cut, which led to fussy cutting.  Changed paper, layouts -- couldn't make it work.  Too much line, too much stamped color -- not enough watercolor.

So, this is where my mojo sent me today -- back into the Land of the Shabby!

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted

Stamps:  Free as a Bird 

Paper:  Whisper White, Petal Pink, Minto Macaron, Bird Ballad DSP, Magnolia Lane Memories & More card pack 

Ink:  Black Memento, Mint Macaron, Garden Green, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Rococo Rose, Petal Pink, So Saffron  

Accessories:  Big Shot, Stitched Framelits, Ticket Corner punch, metallic brads, assorted iridescent sequins, aquapainter, Dimensionals