Lighthearted Leaves

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Chris Slogar

This would appear to be a pretty straightforward sketch. However, I was determined to use large stamps that are hard to break up into layers, so I was able to add a level of difficulty. 🙂

In the end, I threw out the layers, but I did include the main elements of the sketch. There is a frame, and a horizontal element, and an embellishment in the top left. I know, it’s kind of a stretch, but I just had to use “Lighthearted Leaves” and the inspiration I found here at Dena Rekow’s site. She says got the idea from page 44 of the Holiday Catalog. Our catalogs are a great place to find ideas!

The leaves were stamped first in Soft Suede, Delightful Dijon, and Cajun Craze. I made a stencil for each leaf shape using the Leaflets framelits on vellum, and then sponged the same colors over the stamped images. So fun!

And the frame? I traced the rectangle from the Seasonal Frame Thinlits with a gold Sharpie. More fun! You have to try this!!

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

Fall Joy Folds

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Chris Slogar

Have you noticed the adorable fall sets and earthy “Into the Woods” suite in the Holiday Catalog? So much goodness packed into only four pages (p 42-45)!

These two cards are Joy Fold cards, meaning that they have flaps that open from both sides. Terri Meehan showed us how to simplify this card type at our Team Meeting this weekend. The trick is to use our precut and scored note cards. The end view below gives a better idea of how these cards are constructed.

The Mossy Meadow piece measures 6 1/2″ x 5 1/2″, scored at 2 1/4″ along the 6 1/2″ dimension. The resulting card base is a standard 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″. The designer paper piece measures 2″ x 5 1/4″.

The Whisper White piece is one of our notecards, trimmed a bit. The part of the note card that makes up the front of this card is 1/4″ narrower than the standard 3 1/2″ x 5″ notecard. I simply trimmed 1/4″ off one end of the card, and attached it to the base as shown, with the narrower half on top. The embossed Crumb Cake piece measures 3″ x 4 3/4″.

Terri’s card (on the left) uses “Thankful Forest Friends” with a Crumb Cake note card. My team made the version on the right last night using “Acorny Thank You” and a Whisper White note card. That beautiful background for the acorn is a 2 1/2″ circle that was punched out of the designer paper, so of course, it coordinates beautifully!

Thanks for looking! Have a great day!

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Weekly Deals

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Chris Slogar

Here are this week’s deals…

	Butterflies Thinlits Dies Item # 137360 Regular Price: $25.00 US/$31.00 CAN Discounted Price: $18.75 US/$23.25 CAN
	Brights Designer Buttons Item # 130028 Regular Price: $8.00 US/$10.00 CAN Discounted Price: $6.00 US/$7.50 CAN
	Fringe Scissors Item # 133325 Regular Price: $10.00 US/$12.50 CAN Discounted Price: $7.50 US/$9.38 CAN
	Early Espresso 1/4″ Cotton Ribbon Item # 134560 Regular Price: $6.00 US/$7.50 CAN Discounted Price: $4.50 US/$5.63 CAN
	Gold Basic Metal Buttons Item # 133763 Regular Price: $8.00 US/$10.00 CAN Discounted Price: $6.00 US/$7.50 CAN
	Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies Item # 137547 Regular Price: $40.00 US/$49.00 CAN Discounted Price: $30.00 US/$36.75 CAN
	Whisper White 5/8″ Satin Ribbon Item # 134549 Regular Price: $7.00 US/$8.75 CAN Discounted Price: $5.25 US/$6.56 CAN

September “a la carte” Choices

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Chris Slogar

Here is the “menu” for next Wendesday’s Greetings a la Carte classes. 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, Sept 23 at 6pm.

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. Wildflower Thanks (or greeting of choice) – 8/$10

2. Lighthearted Leaves (choose greeting), CASE of Kylie Bertucci’s card – 8/$10

3. Chalkboard Birthday – 8/$12

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

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

6. Colorful Acorns – 8/$12

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

8. Manger Scene – 8/$12

9. Cardinal – 8/$12

10. Lovely Amazing You, CASE of Mindy Gray’s card – 8/$14

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).

If you are signed up, please let me know your choices asap. If you would like to join us next Wednesday night, please contact me. If you are not local, I hope you enjoyed these card ideas!! 🙂

Guest Stampers

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Chris Slogar

First a note about schedule – if you are looking for this month’s A La Carte choices, I will post them on Monday. I just received some materials this week that I would like to include in those samples, and have been working on other projects in the meantime.

Today I have a mixed collection of cards to share. These were all taken of cards that were shared with me over the past month, and each of their designers agreed that I could post them here.

First, two cards by Carol Coy…

Love these clean designs!

This is a card by Jan Woitas – the “wow” comes when you open it…

The butterfly tucks away, perfectly flat and folded, when the card is closed. It seems to come to life when you open the card. It is mounted on a clear plastic strip that is attached on the left and right side of the fold. The picture doesn’t do this any justice! A video of the motion would be better.

Also by Jan Woitas, these Santa faces are so magical! The stamp is not from Stampin’ Up!, but I want to point out the glasses. The lenses are coated with Crystal Effects, and that little bit of added dimension is a great finishing touch!

Aren’t these two-step flowers and leaves from “Stippled Blossoms” gorgeous? Once again, the picture doesn’t capture the dimension and detail – these flowers actually glisten with glittery touches of Wink of Stella. This card was made by Bonnie Bolender.

The next group are samples from Mary Jane Ebie…

“Lighthearted Leaves” look great highlighted with a white gel pen!

Great use of June Paper Pumpkin stamps!

And July!

CAS Sympathy card

And one from Mindy Gray, love this layout…

Thank you ladies for sharing these great projects!! Have a great weekend!

Michigan Colors?!

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Chris Slogar

Ok…these are the colors we have this week. If you are a Buckeye fan, it’s hard to see these as anything besides Michigan colors. But alas, the challenge was calling, so here is my card…

Let’s also see how this card looks in Ohio State colors…

That’s better! Regardless of which colors you like, this is a versatile design that could be made in any colors. It works equally well for a man or a woman. I used the stamp set “Big News”.

You can see all of the Challenge Team cards and the entries as they come in at Create with Connie and Mary. If you aren’t a big fan of the blue and yellow combination, maybe you can make a Real Red / Smoky Slate / Basic Gray card instead? Love those colors!

Acorns Dropping By

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Chris Slogar

I love this simple sketch from this week’s Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge. I used a smaller main panel so that my acorns wouldn’t get lost in the space, and here is what I came up with:

Thanks for stopping by! You can see all of the entries in this challenge at Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Weekly Deals

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Chris Slogar

There are just two days left to get this deal on Paper Pumpkin. New subscribers get their first two months for half price, just $9.98 + tax (shipping is included.) There is no obligation to continue beyond your first two months. You can cancel at any time. Click here to subscribe, and drop me a note when you do – I will send you a “Thank You” favor and note card.

Here are this week’s Weekly Deals…

	Scalloped Tag Topper Punch Item # 133324 Regular Price: $23.00 US/$28.00 CAN Discounted Price: $17.25 US/$21.00 CAN
	Pearl Basic Jewels Item # 119247 Regular Price: $5.00 US/$6.25 CAN Discounted Price: $3.75 US/$4.69 CAN
	Pink Pirouette 1/2″ Seam Binding Ribbon Item # 134574 Regular Price: $7.00 US/$8.75 CAN Discounted Price: $5.25 US/$6.56 CAN
	Metallics Sequin Assortment Item # 138390 Regular Price: $5.00 US/$6.25 CAN Discounted Price: $3.75 US/$4.69 CAN
	Silver Glimmer Paper Item # 135314 Regular Price: $5.00 US/$6.25 CAN Discounted Price: $3.75 US/$4.69 CAN
	Confetti Hearts Border Punch Item # 137415 Regular Price: $22.00 US/$27.00 CAN Discounted Price: $16.50 US/$20.25 CAN
	Silver 5/8″ Satin Ribbon Item # 134548 Regular Price: $7.00 US/$8.75 CAN Discounted Price: $5.25 US/$6.56 CAN

Sheltering Tree – Still a Fave

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Chris Slogar

“Sheltering Tree” made its debut in January in the Occasions Catalog. Its adorable accessories make it perfect for any season, so I think it will be around for a long time. Lining up the multi-step stamps is so easy because the set is photopolymer. Also, because of the steps and variety of accessories, it requires more stamping – which I always think is more fun!

We’re heading into the season for “Delightful Dijon” – even if you are not a huge fan of this new “In Color”, I think you’ll have to admit that it is perfect for fall.

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Acorny Madness

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Chris Slogar

This week’s Create with Connie and Mary sketch has a lot of repeated shapes – we are not going to worry about exactly how many.

I just love these acorns! I would have put two rows of them on the card if they were a bit smaller. Instead, I am considering the caps the top row.

“Acorny Thank You” is a set that I passed over at first. Then I created a single acorn from my friend’s set to make this card last week.

Just one acorn and I was sold! Had to have the bundle! I even changed one of my Open House projects to use it.

Make sure to check out all of the Challenge Team cards at Create with Connie and Mary. I think it is especially fun to watch the challenges at this time of year because there is such a wide range of themes. There can be all-season cards, summer cards, fall cards, and holiday cards – and all so creative and inspiring!