More TSOL Projects & Cards!

Here are a couple more projects and a card I created with this month's special release stamps from The {Stamps} of Life!

First is this Christmas card in non-traditional colors. I have this thing for pink and green on Christmas cards. I used the candy canes from the Christmas2Build stamps to make a heart. I added some crystal PK Glitz glitter on the alternating stripes. The mats are cut from a Nestabilities label die. The paper comes from Libby Weifenbach & Tracey Howard's digital kitFra Gee Lay.

Next is a simple sour cream treat container I made as part of a set of six for a tutorial I wrote over on Penny Springmann's Blog. The stamps are from the Monogram2Build and Alpha4Monogram. The circle is either a Nestabilities scalloped circle or else a 1.5" scalloped circle punch, I can't remember now which one I used! Isn't this paper GORGEOUS? I love it. It comes from Penny Springmann and Amanda Heimann's collab kit, Autumn Rhapsody.

Finally I have a simple initial tin that also uses the Monogram2Build and Alpha4Monogram stamps. I stamped using Color Box pigment ink in scarlet, then dumped red embossing powder on top and heat set the whole thing. I love these little boxes, and was thrilled to find a set at Michaels in their Sold-As-Is section marked 75% off, from $19.99 to $5! There was only one tin missing from the whole set so of course I snatched them up! They're perfect for holding a few chocolates or other small treat.

That's it for now! Stay tuned, as I'll have some more before the end of the month!

Battle of the Creative Teams, Week 2!

This week's challenge was MUCH easier! It was another two-part challenge. The first part was a scraplift train, where we listed the members of our team and then had to lift a layout from the person ahead of us and behind us in the list. The second part was to choose one of these three words: yesterday, today, tomorrow in our layout or project.

Our team chose "Today" as our word.

My project for this week's battle:



You can read the credits here.

And you can vote for Libby Weifenbach http://www.esurveyspro.com/app/polls/DirectPoll.aspx?id=6928 once per IP address! Hurry, the voting ends at 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, October 24!!!

Thanks!

Candy Dispenser!

I whipped this little project up pretty quickly using the new Just Sayin' digital collab kit by Penny Springmann and Eva Kipler and Kelleigh Ratzlaff's Candy Dispenser template.

I used some flat backed adhesive pearls for the feet on the bottom, and some fabulous ribbon from The Paper Studio that happened to match the colors in the kit. Then I filled it with fall-colored M&Ms that went with the kit colors.

A Few Christmas Projects

Yes, I know. It's only October...but if you're a stamper or paper crafter, you know you have to get a head start on making your gifts and cards!
The {Stamps} of Life has two really cute Christmas sets out this month - the club set is Holly4Christmas and the special release set is Christmas2Build. I made the following projects with these two sets.



The holly on top was created with the digital brushes and then printed out along with the project itself, which uses Kelleigh Ratzlaff's Perfect Square box template and Kristin Cronin-Barrow's Holly Jolly digital scrapbook kit. I embellished the holly berries using PK Glitz China Red glitter and I love the extra touch it adds.



I also created this ornament. I used gold Color Box pigment ink to stamp "{joy}" onto acetate, then I dumped gold embossing powder on top of it. It took a long time to emboss it because I was worried about melting the acetate, even though it was the heat resistant kind made to run through copiers. I cut the acetate using a scalloped circle Nestabilities die, then I punched a hole using a large papercrafting needle and strung gold DMC embroidery floss through it. I added the sparkly confetti (which I've had for years, it was made by Magic Scraps and I don't believe they're still in business) using a funnel. I rolled up the acetate circle just tight enough to slip through the opening of the ornament. It unrolls after it goes through the opening. I threaded the floss through the lid of the ornament and then replaced the lid. I added the bow on top and then spent more time trying to get a good photo of it than I did actually creating it! I love how it turned out and I can't wait to see how it looks shimmering in the lights of our Christmas tree. I was so excited to find acrylic ornaments - I love the glass ones but I have two small children and there was no way I was going to make an ornament like this that could be easily broken.



This card is so much more stunning in person - the green base paper is glitter paper by DCWV. I found a package of green and pink ribbons and thought it would be fun to create a Christmas card in non-traditional colors. I stamped the ornament five times and then cut out each ornament. I scored them in half and then stuck them together with adhesive to get the 3-d effect. I used the Swirls2Build to create the pink paper, and used the "merry" sentiment from last year's Joy2Christmas set. The dies are Nestabilities - same die shape, different sizes. Yes, I think I might be slightly addicted.



And last but DEFINITELY not least from the Holly4Christmas set is this card. It's hard to tell, but I used a stained glass technique to create the holly. I stamped the holly image onto acetate using CTMH black ink. I left it to dry overnight and it was fine in the morning. Then I added PK Glitz glitter in the green and red and placed a white piece of cardstock down on top, applying the adhesive to where the glitter is so you can't see it. Then I ran both pieces through my die cut machine with the scalloped circle Nestabilities die and cut the basic circle in the next size up to create a mat for the scalloped circle. I cut the green shape with a labels die. I embossed the red paper with a Cuttlebug bird embossing folder, then I cut a strip and punched it with a Fiskars open scallop border punch. Finally, I stamped "{joy}" in red and assembled the card. This one is my favorite so far!

I'll be back soon with some more creations from this month's stamp set!

Battle of the Creative Teams, Week 1!

So Digiscrap Addicts is having a four-week competition called the Battle of the Creative Teams (BOTCT) and I'm participating on Libby Weifenbach's team. Every week we're given a new challenge and each team member creates a digital layout or hybrid layout/project. Then the public votes on the best team. Voting runs from Saturday to Sunday each week and you can vote once per IP address per week. You can go HERE to vote. My team, Libby Weifenbach, is near the bottom. You don't have to log in or anything, just click the link, find her name, select the radio button, and hit vote!

This week's challenge was *HARD* especially as a hybrid artist! Our team of 5 people had to choose one of three recipes AND had to include an equation. We chose Phenomenal + Woman = for our equation (and we all used "ME" as our answer, though the answers could be different), and this was our recipe:

option 3
10 ribbons
9 flowers
8 buttons
7 papers
6 stitches
5 alphas
4 photos
3 shape templates
2 fonts
1 frame

And here's my project:





It's a pop-up circle mini-album. It was fun to put together, and I think I would have had even more fun if I hadn't been trying to follow a specific recipe.

I'd love it if you would swing by and vote for Libby Weifenbach's team! Thanks!