Fancy Friday - A Holiday Basket of Wishes

Welcome back to the Fancy Friday Blog Hop!

My fancy friends and I are back with some NEW fancy friends too! We loved working with each other so much that we decided to continue on with an all new blog hop to inspire you in fun new ways! These are a group of past and current Artisans that have become fast friends thru the Artisan journey. Glad to have you here!

 Each month on the last Friday, we will bring to you new challenges of all kinds (color,sketch, stamp focus, etc)! This month we are having fun with the upcoming holiday season! Are you ready? We were to pick a favorite Stampin' UP! Product from either the NEW Holiday Catalog or the Annual Catalog and run with it.

Sometimes you see a stamp set and think "I would never buy that, right? Well this was one of them for me. I got this Basket of Wishes Stamp Set in my Artisan quarterly box so technically it was free BUT after using it for this blog post challenge, I would DEFINITELY buy it!  I enjoyed coloring the images with my Aqua Painter and Blender Pen with inks.

Here is the first card I created. I love this one! The red strawberries in the teal carton with the burlap ribbon and pretty doily just says "country farm". The Petals and Paisleys Specialty Designer Series Paper has some really nice patterns that works well with this stamp set too. I used the Aqua Painter with inks (Cherry Cobbler, Real Red, Bermuda Bay and Mint Macaron) on Shimmery White Cardstock.

 Do you know how hard it is to photo copper foil? OY! I love this copper foil dotted pattern DSP from the same pack! I hope you can see how great it is. I added a scallop circle of the Copper Foil Sheet with the Layered Circle Framelits Dies. I used the Blender Pen with inks (Soft Suede and Cucumber Crush) on Shimmery White Cardstock.

This last one was a combination of the last two. Burlap, Doily, Ribbon Trio and another pattern from the DSP. I also used the Aqua Painter AND Blender Pen with the inks here. Very therapeutic to color these in and I highly recommend giving it a try!

Thanks for stopping by my post for the Fancy Friday blog hop!

Inspire. Create. Share. That's what I love to do.

Cindy
Now move on to my awesome friend Allison's GORGEOUS card by clicking on the next button below! 

Stampin' UP! Artisan Blog Hop - Thanksgiving Moroccan

Welcome BACK to the 2015-2016 Stampin' UP! Artisan Design Team Blog Hop! 
I am so blessed that I get to create and inspire with these amazing Stampin' UP products and share with you all here for another wonderful year! Remember that every other Thursday, all 20 of us from all over the world will post on our blogs an inspiring project for you! Be sure to get Google Translate so that you can read in your language all about how they created their projects too. Please keep hoppin' thru them all....you do not want to miss anyone of these amazing ladies!

This week is an "open to create" week but to stay within the parameters of goodies from our Artisan box. I instantly took a look at the large patterns of the Moroccan Designer Series Paper and thought of this Thanksgiving tipi idea! 

With Thanksgiving just a few weeks away, this idea of name place cards for the table came to my mind. They are so easy to make with the Pyramid Pals Thinlits Dies! I cut the DSP with the die cut and my Big Shot. Trim off a little on the top point and put together. Then I cut another piece of DSP with just the triangle side and trimmed off. Cut a slit for the opening, fold back sides and add a piece of cardstock to show the opening in color. I got this idea from my clever teammate Jessica Williams HERE. I took 4 toothpicks together, wrapped a piece of the 5/8" Burlap Ribbon around a couple of times and knotted. Just put in hole at the top of the tipi and glue into place.  

 To complete the name card, stamp with the Thoughtful Banners Stamp Set the banner image and punch out with the Duet Banner Punch. I used the Labeler Alphabet Photopolymer Stamp Set to stamp the names in the matching ink colors of Emerald Envy, Dapper Denim, Delightful Dijon and Cajun Craze. I stamped the leaf image from the Thoughtful Branches Stamp Set in Delightful Dijon and Emerald Envy and cut them with the matching Beautiful Branches Thinlits Dies. So if you did not get the Thoughtful Branches Bundle, hurry while supplies last! Also Stampin' UP! has many other stamps with leaf images as well. I will make a few more of these for the rest of our crew at Thanksgiving. 

How about a card? This card is 4 1/4" x 4 1/4". I cut more of the DSP with the die cut but this time leaving the bottom fold piece on instead of cutting it off. Slivers of Early Espresso cardstock make the poles at the top. I just made a background layer with the Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder on Kraft Cardstock. I also added some Emerald Envy Baker's Twine. Look closely....that greeting is BRAND NEW! You will find it on page 49 in the NEW Holiday Catalog out September 1st!

Thanks for stopping by here and if you leave a comment 
then thanks for truly making my day!

Inspire. Create. Share. That's what I love to do.

Cindy

Now on to one of my dearest friends.....Connie Collins! She is one of a kind!

Acorny Thank You - Stampin' UP Artisan Blog Hop

Welcome back to the Stampin' UP Artisan Design Team Blog Hop! 

We are just finishing on our October 2015 box from Stampin' UP. 

This box was FULL of super fun holiday products 

from the NEW Stampin' UP Holiday Catalog!!!!!  
I am so blessed that I get to create with these amazing products and share with you all here! Remember that every Thursday of each week, all 13 of us from all over the world will post on our blogs an inspiring project for you! Be sure to get Google Translate so that you can read in your language all about how they created their projects too. Now on to my second project for this month....
We are using two of my favorite items in the Holiday Catalog! The Acorny Thank you Photopolymer Stamp Set and the Acorn Builder Punch! I have been creating with these two items on all kinds of Fall decor and cards lately. LOVE them!

Plaid is all the rage this year in Fall decor. I saw this plaid pattern of Designer Series Paper in the Happy Hauntings DSP and I was completely smitten! Even better is that the other side of it is large dots! Be still my heart! This color combo of Tangelo Twist, Basic Black, Smoky Slate, Very Vanilla and Kraft just works well for a fresh Fall palette so I used it for this trio of projects with the acorn theme.

So I was chatting with my friend and fellow ADT team member Susan Wong about the Reindeer Clips and I was talking about having a hard time using them on projects. She LOVES them. Well I found a way to love them too! I was playing with them on this card and discovered they look like the outline of fall leaves! You just have to hide the nose part!

I took the same plaid/dot pattern and the Acorn Builder Punch to create several of these fun acorns. Then punch smaller circle for stringing as a banner. To get the notches on the card, punch your 1/2" circle punch just a little less than half way. The black checked washi tape is from the Everyday Chic Washi Tape.

What about a matching treat bag with some of the leftover pieces I had? Just assemble together and staple right to the Mini Muslin bag. Super simple! I just threw in some hot cocoa mix packets and a bag of mini marshmellows. Perfect for those first cold Fall nights! Something I am always thankful for...

Thanks for stopping by! I hope this inspires you!

Cindy

Now move on to my friend from France, Helene Legrand by clicking on the next button below!  Be sure to stop by all 13 of us! Plenty of good ideas to get your holidays kicked off!

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Sending Simply Gratitude - Stampin' UP Artisan Blog Hop

Welcome back to the Artisan Design Team Blog Hop! We are on our November box from Stampin' UP. This box was full of Christmas kits and stamps from the Stampin' UP Holiday Catalog! I am so excited to share fun and seasonal projects to inspire you! Every Thursday of each week for one full year, all 16 of us from all over the world will post on our blogs an inspiring project for you! Be sure to get Google Translate so that you can read in your language all about how they created their projects too. Now on to my Stampin' UP Facebook project this week...my Simply Created Gratitude cards!

One look at this Gratitude for Days Simply Created Kit and I knew that I want to ACTUALLY send them to people that are such a blessing in my life. To do that, I had to turn this "garland" kit into individual cards. It really was rather simple. I cut 8.5 x11 cardstock of Basic Gray, Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon, Tangerine Tango, Blackberry Bliss and Old Olive into 4.25x5.5 bases with rounded corners at the bottom. Then assemble the pockets, add the numbers, an Autumn Wooden Elements leaf or acorn (I will missed these so much when the Holiday Catalog is over) and tie a bow with the twine from the kit.

Of course, I had to add some stamping along the way! I used the Gratitude for Days Photopolymer Stamp Set for the notecards and the Whisper White envelopes. I made my list of my top 10 blessings of this year and filled out the notecards with thoughts on how each of those people change my last year. With this kit, I could go to 30 blessings but I wanted to use 11-30 for birthday cards like my friend Mercedes did HERE. Love her gift card idea for this kit!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope this inspires you to 
thank the people that mean so much to you! Tis the season to be thankful!

Cindy

You saw my friend, Becky Cowley before me and now move on to my friend, Helene Legrand by clicking on the next button below! Be sure to stop by all 16 of us!

Gratitude For Days Simply Created Kit

$21.95

Gratitude For Days Photopolymer Stamp Set

$15.95

Autumn Wooden Elements

$4.95

Blackberry Bliss 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$6.95

Hello Honey 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$6.95

Lost Lagoon 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$6.95

Tangerine Tango 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$6.95

Basic Gray 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$6.95

Old Olive 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$6.95

Medium Whisper White Envelopes

$6.50

Punch Corner Project Life

$7.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Digital Project Life MY WAY - MDS Blog Hop

 WELCOME TO THE MDS BLOG HOP!

A bunch of us have joined together to share our passion for digital designing with Stampin' UP's My Digital Studio.  These ladies are SERIOUSLY talented in MDS and I am thrilled to be on this Blog Hop with them! You will find us blog hopping on the 2nd and 4th THURSDAYS of each month! We are a little early this month due to the holidays! ALSO we have a guest blogger this month of November! MONIKA DAVIS She is my dear friend and my "partner in crime" with our MDS biz. Believe me, she knows her MDS!

For the MDS Blog Hop this time, we are sharing PROJECT LIFE DIGITALLY! Come check out each of us and what we bring to the digital PL world!

Well there was some talk about MDS moving towards Project Life printed cards, however this has been delayed unfortunately. (insert frown face here) SOOOO......

I decided to make my OWN! I created a 8.5x11 page and filled Happy Things Pocket Cards punch with Designer Series Paper from the Grateful Heart Thanksgiving download. Then I just took some of the stamp images and more punches from that same download to finish my designs on the cards. I printed this page on my home printer with Whisper White cardstock.

Can you see the possibilities with this idea? You can use ANY download kit or ensemble with this! I definitely plan to use it again and again and again. Maybe MDS will get on board with printing cards soon and my life will be Project Life PERFECTION!

I cut them out and rounded the corners with my Project Life corner punch. So simple, right? I like simple scrapbooking memory keeping! I need to finish some journaling on this as well. Perhaps a quote about grandparents!

I did add some "hybrid" quality to my page with Early Espresso Baker's Twine, Pool Party and Peach Parfait (retired color-but I always save scraps for this type of occasion as you know MDS NEVER retires....not yet) cardstock cut with the Fun Fall Framelits Dies. I just threw them in the pouch on the photo. FUN!

Want to make this Project Life page too? Guess what? This download is ON SALE for the WEEKLY DEALS right NOW! Click HERE to order it!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope this inspires you ! 

 Cindy 

Click on the button to move on to see what Cori made!

Stampin UP Artisan Blog Hop - Thankful for...

Welcome back to the Artisan Design Team Blog Hop! We are working on our LAST project for the October box from Stampin' UP. This box was full of products from the Stampin' UP Holiday Catalog! I am so excited to share fun and seasonal projects to inspire you! Every Thursday of each week for one full year, all 16 of us from all over the world will post on our blogs an inspiring project for you! Be sure to get Google Translate so that you can read in your language all about how they created their projects too. Now on to my projects this week... 

I was inspired by the utensil muslin bag show in the Holiday catalog on page 40 to create these two items for our extra weekly project this month (we usually do just 4 projects per month). I still need to finish writing what I am thankful for this year! But seriously, I am most thankful to be on this Global Artisan Design Team this year and for all of YOU that follow our blog hop each week! THANK YOU SO MUCH! Your wonderful comments here and pinning my projects on Pinterest make my day! *hugs*

And then from that I was inspired to do this.....I took this crafty technique shown HERE and applied it to make a wreath. Just one change, I made the strips larger to 1" rather then the 1/2". Then I made TONS of those single "leaves" (48 to be exact) and STILL did not have enough so I had to make another 24. They are glued all together and attached to several layers of 1"x12" strips to make the circle "hoop". (I also use 1"x12" strips of the heavy weight DSP packing board in between them for even more support. I colored the edges of it with the Baked Brown Sugar marker to hide it in between the Kraft Cardstock.)

The best part? I made it so that I could take off the Autumn leaves and add other holiday embellishments to it. So watch out for what I add for the winter/Christmas! Coming soon!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope this inspire you!

Cindy

You saw my friend, Becky Cowley before me and now move on to my friend, Helene Legrand by clicking on the next button below! Be sure to stop by all 16 of us!

Thankful Crop - MDS Blog Hop

WELCOME TO THE MDS BLOG HOP!

A bunch of us have joined together to share our passion for digital designing with Stampin' UP's My Digital Studio.  These ladies are SERIOUSLY talented in MDS and I am thrilled to be on this Blog Hop with them! You will find us blog hopping on the 2nd and 4th THURSDAYS of each month!  
For the MDS Blog Hop this time, we are sharing what we have been doing in MDS!

So once a month, my friend Monika and I hold an online virtual digi crop on our Facebook group page. We had one just this week! If you missed it or not part of our group, you still can join us! Just look for our group: MDS Virtual Digi Crop and ask to join. Once we approve you then you can click on events and see both challenges there. But I wanted to share my challenge with you here and inspire you to go create and join us!

I am going to share the feature where you can crop an embellishment. You can get really creative with this!  Several of the ladies who joined us had some great ideas on this technique.

1. Select an embellishment that has a wide area to crop from. The burlap flag here is perfect for this with the texture. Add to your project. Now click on CROP in the Design Center to the right under Embellishments.

2. In the Crop Embellishment area, select CROP SHAPE. 

3. Now you will want to choose the punch. I used the maple leaf punch from the Wonderful download. Then click on APPLY when done.

4. The Crop Embellishment area will come back up and you can see the maple leaf image coverage is larger than my burlap embellishment. Click on the corner box and size down the image fits. Select OK. 

5. Now your cropped embellishment will appear on your project. You can use the corner boxes to alter the size of it. (you can even re-color the embellishment from here like I did and re-colored to Tangelo Twist)

Here is a link to a video that shows how to Crop Embellishments from Stampin’ UP. http://www.mydigitalstudio.net/video/crop-embellishments

Thanks for stopping by! I hope this inspires you to join our monthly 
online virtual MDS digi crop nights! 
 Cindy 

Click on the button to move on to see what Cori made!