October Christmas Buffet Choices

Hello there! As promised, here are the choices for my Christmas buffets for the month of October. Remember, November will have six entirely different projects, so if you want to make these, be sure to attend one of the October buffets.

If you plan to attend, please email me (reedmarla622@gmail.com) with your choices no later than next Wednesday, September 26th. Be sure to include the names of the projects as well as how many you would like to make of each.

I will do a separate blog post on each project (if I haven't already posted it), so be sure to check back if you would like more details on a specific project. Also, there may be slight variations to the projects in order to conserve supplies. Any changes will be small and will not change the overall feel or design of the project.

#1 Cookie Jar

 

 

For more details, click here.

 



#2 Silver Snowflakes

 

For more details, click here.

 

#3 Jolly Christmas Tree

 

 

 

  #4 Shimmery Evergreen

 

 

 For more details, click here.

 

#5 Ornament

 

For more details, click here.

 



 #6 Stocking Gift Card Holder

 

 

 

There will be four different combinations for the stockings- Real Red stocking with Garden Green trim (as pictured), Garden Green Stocking with Real Red trim, Cherry Cobbler stocking with Always Artichoke trim, and Always Artichoke stocking with Cherry Cobbler trim. There is a slot cut into the back layer to hold a gift card.

 

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look at the choices. I hope you can make it to one of the buffets on October 13th or 26th. Be sure to check back this week for blog posts for the remaining projects.

 

~Marla

Pin It

Christmas Shimmer

Hello again! I had an open stamping event earlier this evening and I made a promise to myself that I would actually stamp and not just sit, talk, and eat (like I normally do). I am happy to report that I made FOUR cards! This has to be a new record!

The first card I made was for this week's challenge at Freshly Made Sketches. They are celebrating their first anniversary and the challenge is to make a card using any of their past sketches. I chose sketch #19 and flipped it on its side (because I can never just do a sketch the way it is designed). I am not one to brag, but I just LOVE this card. It might be my favorite card that I have ever made! So sparkly and pretty! OK, enough talking about it, here it is...

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Stamps: Ornament Keepsakes, More Merry Messages
Paper: Core'dinations Early Espresso CS, Cherry Cobbler CS, Very Vanilla CS, Champagne Glimmer
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso
Accessories: Big Shot, Ornament Framelits, Tasteful Trim die, Lacy Brocade EF, sanding block, glue dots, dimensionals

Here is a trick for getting a border of glimmer paper around your ornaments- cut the ornament shape out of the glimmer paper with the framelit, then cut your stamped ornament with scissors and layer them. The framelits leave enough border around the stamped image to produce this sparkly edging for the ornament. I discovered this trick after seeing this card made by Jennifer Brum.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by! Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think. Here is the sketch that I chose. Be sure to stop by Freshly Made Sketches to play along and wish them a happy anniversary!

~Marla

Pin It

Fun Fab Flower

Hello again! I just have to take a minute and say that all of us over at Fab Friday were totally blown away by the entries last week. They were all beautiful and we couldn't believe how many people played along with our very first challenge! Thank you to everyone who participated! It is time for challenge #2 and this time Mindy has a beautiful color challenge for us...

Don't you just love these colors- gorgeous! I have to admit that as much as I love this color combination, it was a bit of a challenge for me. I have had a bit of a stamping slump lately and I struggled to come up with a card. It took a few attempts to come up with a design that I liked. I need to give a shout out to my BSF (Best Stampy Friend) Rita, who helped me through my struggles via text. Thanks, Rita! Anyway, this is what I finally made with a little help from the awesome sketch at Sweet Sunday.

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Stamps: Friendly Phrases
Paper: So Saffron, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, Houndstooth & Scaringbone DSP
Ink: Basic Gray
Accessories: Big Shot, Fun Flowers die, Argyle EF, Scallop Border punch, Neutral button, baker's twine, dimensionals, glue dots

Here is the sketch from Sweet Sunday if you would like to play along...

Come by Fab Friday and check out all of the design team projects and then play along with us! We would love to see your creations! Thanks for stopping by!

~Marla

Pin It

Freshly Made Snowflakes?

Hey there! I have had such a stamping slump lately. I have tried to stamp and just haven't been able to make anything that I was happy with. I know this is pretty common (it actually happens to me more often than I would like) so I just kept trying. My efforts finally paid off this morning. I loved the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this week, so I decided to give it a try.

I ordered the Snowflake Soiree stamp set and the Snow Flurry die several weeks ago, but I hadn't had a chance to play with them yet. I pulled them out this morning and came up with this...

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Stamps: Snowflake Soiree, Greetings of the Season
Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Brushed Silver, Whisper White
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Illuminate
Accessories: Big Shot, Snow Flurry die, Scallop Border punch, Large Pearl, homemade shimmer spray, glue dots

This is a fairly simple card to make. I think this will definitely be one of the contenders for a spot in my upcoming Christmas buffets. It is really just a little stamping, some layering, and then a finishing spritz with shimmer spray. In real life, this card is very sparkly. I really like using non-traditional colors for Christmas cards. Red and green has its place for sure, but who doesn't love a rich purple Christmas card too?

Here is the sketch. Check it out and play along!

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

~Marla




Pin It

Fab Friday!!!!!!

Oh my goodness!!!!! I am so excited! I was asked to be a design team member (huge honor!) for a brand new stamping challenge blog called Fab Friday! If you didn't already LOVE Fridays, now you have one more reason to make it your favorite day of the work week. This is our very first challenge and we hope you will play along! We have a fun sketch challenge for you this week.

Here is my take on the sketch. I turned it on its side (which is totally legal for sketch challenges and I didn't realize that when I started doing them).

Supplies:
Stamps: Lovely As a Tree, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Jolly Old St. Nick (retired)
Paper: Garden Green, Soft Suede, Pool Party, Very Vanilla
Ink: Garden Green, Soft Suede, Pool Party
Accessories: Big Shot, Woodgrain EF, Scallop Border punch, Very Vanilla seam binding, Neutrals button, bakers twine, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, homemade shimmer spray
Techniques: dry embossing, fork bow

I kept things fairly simple for this project. Who wants to make a bunch of complicated and time consuming Christmas cards? I always make a very large stack of cards so I have to keep them fairly simple and easy to duplicate. This card definitely fits the bill! It is hard to see in the picture, but the image panel is sprayed with shimmer spray (rubbing alcohol mixed with Champagne Mist shimmer paint) and I accented the tree, snowflakes, and ground with Dazzling Diamonds. In real life, this card has lots of shimmer and sparkle, which I love for Christmas.

Come on over and check out all of the other "fab" projects made by the design team and play along with us! We would love to see you!

~Marla Pin It

Herringbone for Hand Stamped Sentiments

Hello everyone! Now that August is almost over and life is beginning to fall into a rhythm, I am going to try to be better about stamping and posting regularly again. Last night, I  put the kids to bed and immediately hit my stamp room with every intention of stamping the night away. I couldn't even get started. I had a major case of stamper's block. I gave up and went to bed hoping to dream up some great idea. That didn't happen, but I did decide to do what I always do when I need some inspiration- check out the weekly challenges.

I thought I would try a brand new (to me) technique called "Herringbone" and play along with the challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments. I looked at the pictures from the tutorial on Splitcoast and decided to just wing it. I'm not totally sure that I did it right and the end result is a little busy, but I kinda like it. The background reminds me of a quilt and I thought that it would go well with the jar (plus, I will look for any excuse to use my current favorite stamp set). Here is what I came up with...

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Stamps: Perfectly Preserved
Paper: Raspberry Ripple, Island Indigo, Early Espresso, More Mustard, Very Vanilla, Orchard Harvest DSP, 2012-2014 In Color DSP stack
Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Island Indigo, Early Espresso, Lucky Limeade
Accessories: Big Shot, Window Frame framelits, Cannery framelits, mat pack, paper piercer, Festive Paper Piercing Pack, Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets, linen thread

Thanks for stopping by! Head over to Hand Stamped Sentiments and play along!

Pin It

Still Kickin'...

Just in case you were beginning to wonder, I am still kickin'. I just haven't stamped in almost THREE WEEKS!!!! Yikes! We were away on a wonderful beach vacation for a week and then last week I was very busy catching up from vacation and getting ready for my son's sleepover party for his seventh birthday (sniff, sniff) and this week we are preparing for a family birthday party for both of my kids (their birthdays are a week apart and my daughter will be turning four this Saturday- sniff, sniff again) coming up this weekend. We are also getting ready for my son to head back to school next Monday. August is an extremely busy month at our house, so it isn't really surprising that I haven't been stamping, but I sure do miss it. Hopefully, I will get a chance to stamp again in the next day or two.

In the meantime, here is a card I made over a month ago, but never posted. My mom is also a Stampin' Up demonstrator and is in my downline. She has a club that meets once a month and if it happens that I am going to be at her house for her club meeting, I will act as the guest designer and teach a new technique to her club. She requested the inset embossing (also called inlaid or embedded embossing technique) using the Papillon Potpourri stamp set and coordinating Elegant Butterfly punch. This is what I came up with. All of her club ladies really liked it. I hope you do too!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Stamps: Papillon Potpourri, Friendly Phrases
Paper: Melon Mambo, So Saffron, Gumball Green, Whisper White
Ink: Melon Mambo, Gumball Green
Accessories: Big Shot, Square Lattice EF, Little Leaves Sizzlit, Elegant Butterfly punch, Scallop Oval punch, Large Oval punch, Gumball Green ribbon, basic pearls
Techniques: Inset Embossing

I really like this bright, summery color combination and it came straight from Color Coach. If you don't have a Color Coach yet, you really need to order one... NOW! :)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

~Marla Pin It