You're My Fave!

#stampinup  At this year's Stampin' Up #InspireCreateShare #Convention2015, I was the winner of a prize patrol. It's such a thrill to win a prize. I won the adorable "Howl-o-Ween Treat" set. I love the "Harry Potter" choosing hat, the wide-eyed owl, and the skull. I like cartoon skulls. I don't know why, but I do.

When I saw the current Fab Friday sketch challenge, I knew I'd use the skull from the "Howl-o-Ween Treat" set!



I started with a Halloween-like color scheme: Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black, and Tangerine Tango. I stamped the starburst stamp from the "Kinda Eclectic" stamp set in Versamark onto a Basic Black panel and heat embossed it with Clear Embossing Powder.

Next, I punched a 2" Circle of Tangerine Tango card stock and embossed it with the Chevron Embossing Folder. I stamped the skull in Basic Black Archival Ink onto a Whisper White scrap and fussy cut it. (The "Howl-o-Ween" stamp set coordinates with "Boo to You" Framelits Dies--but I don't own them.)

I grabbed a banner made from Typeset Specialty Series Paper that I had lying in my "card parts" pile on my desk. I added a length of Rich Razzleberry 1/4" Cotton Ribbon and a length of Gold Glitter Ribbon. I adhered these to the card. Then I adhered the Tangerine Tango circle and the skull with Stampin' Dimensionals.

I needed a sentiment--and I spied the perfect "card part" on my desk! I had a strip of Whisper White onto which I'd stamped a sentiment from the "Words of Truth" stamp set in Basic Black Archival Ink. I flagged the ends with the Banner Punch and added it to the card. Perfection!

Here's a closer look at the starburst. I love how it provides a subtle background for the collage elements. 

tams# 4264

Product List

Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $4.00	Paper Snips Scissors [103579] $10.00	Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [127749] $7.50	Banner Punch [133519] $13.00
Banner Triple Punch [138292] $23.00	2" Circle Punch [133782] $18.00	Gold & White 3/8" (1 Cm) Glitter Ribbon [139614] $10.00	Rich Razzleberry 1/4" Cotton Ribbon [134564] $6.00
Heat Tool [129053] $30.00	Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder [109130] $5.00	Typeset Specialty Designer Series Paper [133704] $13.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $8.50
Tangerine Tango 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [111349] $7.00	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121045] $7.00	Rich Razzleberry 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [115316] $7.00	Versamark Pad [102283] $7.50
Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad [140931] $7.00	Words Of Truth Clear-Mount Stamp Set [139397] $17.00	Kinda Eclectic Clear-Mount Stamp Set [135350] $20.00	Howl-O-Ween Treat Clear-Mount Stamp Set [139690] $20.00

You're All Kinds of Awesome!

#stampinup  One of my very favorite stampers, Lydia Fiedler, hosted the Understand Blue Unwind Retreat the day before the Stampin' Up convention began. She taught us several amazing background techniques, which were way out of my comfort zone, but with Lydia's instruction I learned how to make beautiful cards just like Lydia does! 

Lydia is a warm and funny person and I've been stalking her online and she let me stalk her in person while we were in Salt Lake City. I met a bunch of her other friends (minions, sherpas), too, and they were all warm and inviting, too. I had a wonderful time with this gang and I learned some new stamping tricks, too!

This technique is called "ink pad smoosh." Like the technique says, we "smooshed" three ink pads onto a Silicone Craft Sheet.  We used Tempting Turquoise, Blackberry Bliss, and Daffodil Delight. Then we spritzed the Silicon Craft Sheet with water and dropped the Watercolor Paper onto the ink. We dried this first color layer with a Heat Tool.

Next, we went back to the same Silicone Craft Sheet and picked up the mottled colors by dropping the Watercolor Paper on top again. Rinse and repeat as many times as you like, drying thoroughly with the Heat Tool between each color layer.

I backed my smooshed paper with a Blackberry Bliss mat before adhering it to a Crumb Cake card base with Stampin' Dimensionals.

We stamped a sentiment from the "Words of Truth" stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black onto a strip of Whisper White card stock and flagged the ends. I added my sentiment to the card with Stampin' Dimensionals.

I think this card is all kinds of awesome. And Lydia, herself, is all kinds of awesome, too!!

tams# 3893

Product List

Words Of Truth Clear-Mount Stamp Set [139397] $17.00	Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad [126952] $6.50	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad [133642] $6.50	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad [126944] $6.50
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $6.00	Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [120953] $7.00	Blackberry Bliss 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [133675] $7.00	Watercolor Paper [122959] $5.00
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $8.50	Silicone Craft Sheet [127853] $6.00	Stampin' Spritzer [126185] $3.00	Heat Tool [129053] $30.00
Paper Snips Scissors [103579] $10.00	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $4.00