Another Forest Friend

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Chris Slogar

This week’s sketch is very plain, and I decided to use it as a starting point. I added a bear from “Thankful Forest Friends” and made a baby card.

Don’t limit your use of this cute bear to autumn cards! With a little Soft Sky and Hello Honey, he is perfect for baby. Even the coordinating Into the Woods designer paper looks like it was meant for a baby card when you use it in this combination. I’m going to miss this paper and those coordinating wood embellishments when they are gone.

Thanks so much for checking out my card for this week’s challenge. Please visit Create with Connie and Mary to see what my talented Thursday Challenge teammates have come up with. Hope you will be inspired to play along!

Paper Pumpkin Stamp Storage

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Chris Slogar

I have been collecting my Paper Pumpkin stamps in our stamp cases, which worked really well when I just had a few. Those cases became packed with stamps…and very uninviting. So of course, I wasn’t opening them anymore, and the stamps were not getting used.

I stumbled upon this storage solution on a facebook page dedicated to Paper Pumpkin. This is our 6″ x 8″ Project Life Album with one Variety Pack of Photo Pocket Pages. This is so inviting!

I have been a Paper Pumpkin subscriber since it started. I was able to organize all of my Paper Pumpkin stamps, and I had pages leftover.

You could organize any clear stamps this way – I added my Watercolor Wishes kit stamps. It’s a very efficient way to store those miscellaneous stamps. Flipping through these pages for inspiration will be so much better than digging through a pile of stamps in a box!

I also have a quick little note card to show today. It uses the September 2015 Paper Pumpkin stamps.

I am a huge fan of our precut and scored note cards that come in a package of 20 with envelopes. How fast could you whip up a set of these when you don’t have to cut anything?

Here’s a tip for stamping with more than one color. Of course you could use markers to color the image on the stamp. In the case of the pumpkin, though, it is 95% Tangelo Twist, and I always find it easier to use a stamp pad. I inked the stamp on my Tangelo Twist stamp pad and wiped away the ink from the stem with a make-up applicator.

You could also use a Q-tip, but I found these great swabs at Target, and they are pointy at one end. I simply moistened the cotton and squeezed out the excess water to create this great tool.

One more quick tip – to make the pumpkin vine, I inked only a portion of the stamp on the edge of the stamp pad.

Have a great day!

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Weekly Deals

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Chris Slogar

Here are this week’s Weekly Deals. Stampin’ Up! is limiting the quantities available at these prices, so please shop early for the best selection. I will be placing an order on Wednesday morning – if you are local and would like me to include your items, please contact me today.

	Metal Rimmed Pearls Item # 138394 Regular Price: $5.00 US/$6.25 CAN Discounted Price: $3.75 US/$4.69 CAN
	Classy Designer Buttons Item # 138393 Regular Price: $6.00 US/$7.50 CAN Discounted Price: $4.50 US/$5.63 CAN
	Wild Wasabi 1/2″ Seam Binding Ribbon Item # 134570 Regular Price: $7.00 US/$8.75 CAN Discounted Price: $5.25 US/$6.56 CAN
	Hearts & Stars Decorative Masks Item # 133777 Regular Price: $3.00 US/$3.75 CAN Discounted Price: $2.25 US/$2.81 CAN

Thankful Forest Friends

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Chris Slogar

I want to showcase “Thankful Forest Friends” today. It has a really cute mix of greetings and images. The two cards shown above were designed by Mindy Gray. I made the one on the right at an event she hosted with Candy Michael in September. I love the bright pop of color that the Tangelo Twist adds, don’t you?

The other card gives you a totally different look with the same stamp set and designer paper. It’s great to get variety from the same products!

There are some great expressions of thanksgiving in this set. I posted the cards below earlier this fall – the card on the left, designed by Terri Meehan, also uses “Thankful Forest Friends”, and it shows off the other large greeting in this set. Click here to see the original post for details on these joy fold cards.

I have also used the bear stamp to make a polar bear. I think the polar bear is going to be super-cute holding a Valentine in a few months, too!

Thanks for stopping by!

If you are getting into the holiday spirit, don’t forget that I have a “Class To Go” kit available that makes a beautiful holiday sampler with just one stamp set – “Lots of Joy”. This class is available to purchase with the supplies you need to make your own sampler, or as a Class Planner. I had my second round of local classes to make this sampler, and my customers have been making extras to give as gifts. Click here for more details.

Old and New

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Chris Slogar

I can’t do my throwbacks on Thursday since that is the day I post my Connie and Mary Challenge Team cards, but I don’t want to totally neglect my old favorites. I love to see how different the retired sets look with new products.

“Perfect Blend” retired this past May, but it is a keeper in my collection. I am using it here with this year’s Bohemian Designer Series Paper, the Boho Chic embossing folder and Blackberry Bliss 5/8″ Striped Cotton Ribbon.

Thanks for stopping! Have a great weekend!

Peaceful Sky

Posted on October 8, 2015 by Chris Slogar

This week’s challenge colors made me think of a night sky.

I used my Aquapainter and a few drops of Lost Lagoon and Perfect Plum to create the sky on watercolor paper. I used the Sleigh Ride Edgelits to create the building and tree silhouettes, and the “Holly Jolly Greetings” bundle for the greeting.

It’s always difficult to photograph gold embossing – hope you can see it! The moon and the stars come from “Jingle All the Way”, the stamp set that coordinates with the Sleigh Ride Edgelits.

Thanks for checking out my card for this week’s challenge. Please visit Create with Connie and Mary to see what my talented Thursday Challenge teammates have come up with. Hope you will be inspired to play along!

Football Helmet

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Chris Slogar

Each year, I like to make a card for football season, and I think it’s pretty obvious where my loyalties are. No matter your team, it’s fun to come up with a card for fans.

This Buckeye helmet is so easy. It uses 5 1/4″ long strips for the stripe. The Real Red strip is 1″ wide, the Whisper White is 1 1/2″, and the Basic Black is 1 3/4″. The Buckeye is made from a 3/4″ Chocolate Chip circle, a 3/8″ Crumb Cake circle and a Garden Green Boho Blossom (retired) flower. The Whisper White circles are 1 1/4″.

Weekly Deals

Posted on October 6, 2015 by Chris Slogar

This week’s Weekly Deals are shown below. Please contact me if you would like me to order for you, or click here to shop in my online store.

	Hamburger Box Bigz Xl Die Item # 133724 Regular Price: $43.00 US/$53.00 CAN Discounted Price: $32.25 US/$39.75 CAN
	Fast Fuse Adhesive Refill Item # 129027 Regular Price: $7.50 US/$9.25 CAN Discounted Price: $5.63 US/$6.94 CAN
	Metallics Sequin Assortment Item # 138390 Regular Price: $5.00 US/$6.25 CAN Discounted Price: $3.75 US/$4.69 CAN
	White Perfect Accents Item # 138416 Regular Price: $5.00 US/$6.25 CAN Discounted Price: $3.75 US/$4.69 CAN
	Old Olive Baker’s Twine Item # 134579 Regular Price: $3.00 US/$3.75 CAN Discounted Price: $2.25 US/$2.81 CAN
	Gusseted Cellophane Bags Item # 133770 Regular Price: $4.50 US/$5.75 CAN Discounted Price: $3.38 US/$4.31 CAN

October “a la carte” Choices

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Chris Slogar

Here is the “menu” for next Wendesday’s Greetings a la Carte classes. As I put it together, I realized that I have more than my normal share of CASEs. I know you will understand – there are so many beautiful ideas out there, it is just hard to resist! Plus I had a busy weekend with Jen at home and Julia’s Homecoming.

If you are signed up, please let me know which you would like to make. Keep in mind that the greeting can be changed quite easily on most of these designs. If you have a different card choice from a recent class, please let me know – I may be able to accommodate you. There is still room in the evening session, Wednesday, October 14 at 6pm, as well as the sessions on October 20 and 22.

This class is a Stamp-a-Stack where you create cards in groups of eight. The price varies, based on design, and each card comes with a mat piece for the inside (except the heavy white cards). Dimensionals and envelopes are included.

You can sign up for more than one design, or multiples of designs. Depending on how many sets you choose, you may not be able to completely assemble them during the class time, but I will make sure you do the steps you need to complete with my supplies. You can plan to share sets with a friend, if you don’t want 8 of a kind, but I do ask that you each order one set to hold a place for each of you in class.

1. Witch’s Hat, CASE of Mindy Gray’s card – 8/$12

2. Halloween Skull, CASE of Terri Meehan’s card – 8/$12

3. Birch Birthday, CASE of Nicole Tugrul’s card – 8/$12

4. Acorn with Leaves, CASE of Mindy Gray’s card – 8/$12

5. Christmas Tree Tag – 8/$12

6. Peace on Earth, CASE of Jan McMullen’s card – 8/$10

7. Ornament Tag, CASE of BJ Peters’ card – 8/$12

8. Manger Scene – 8/$12

9.Cardinal – 8/$12

10. Silent Night, CASE of Paula Dobson’s card – 8/$12

11. Gift Card Bags – 8/$14

This is the piece that pulls out of the bag – the bottom edge is folded to form a pocket for your gift card. This bag fits into a standard envelope (included).

12. Sketched Dots Gift Card Bags – 8/$14

These also have a card that pulls out.

If you are signed up for Wednesday, Oct 14, please let me know your choices asap. If you are signed up for the following week (Oct 20 or 22), you are welcome to choose from these, but I may add a few next week. If you are not local, I hope you enjoyed these card samples!! 🙂

Don’t Get Hung Up on the Name

Posted on October 2, 2015 by Chris Slogar

These Sleigh Ride Edgelits Dies are good for more than sleigh rides! They are so fun! You can create a whimsical little scene for any season – like this one for Halloween. I just grabbed some spooky nighttime colors along with that great black glimmer paper to make this easy card. The hardest part of this was picking up the tiniest stars from the Confetti Border Punch – I don’t think anyone can do that without tweezers. The gluing is actually a piece of cake though, thanks to our new Fine-Tip Glue Pen.

The word is cut from another great thinlit set – Seasonal Frames, and I colored the rhinestones with my orange Sharpie.

Have a great weekend!

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