Mojo Monday again!

As I wait for some new Stampin Up! products to post, I thought I would try this Mojo and use one of watercolored Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set flowers. The flower is stamped in white craft ink and then I used clear embossing powder. Using Regal Rose and Summer Sun reinkers, I achieved this effect with my Aqua painter tool. Melon Mambo and Crushed Curry cardstock along with a little Raspberry Lemonade DSP and Crushed Curry grograin ribbon coordinate with the rose. The Photo Corners punch was stamped with Friends 24-7 in Melon Mambo and added for a bit of detail. My finishing touch is a Circle Fire Brad to hold down my ribbon.
Happy Mojo!

Fall is in the Air

This is my card for Mojo Monday #7 as they celebrate 100 sketches. One of my favorite stampers, Mary Fish, designed this sketch.
Instead of squares I used the Curly Label Punch, for a different look. The Scallop Edge Punch came in handy and I had to use my Nestabilities Ovals again~just got them and LOVE them~ My DSP is from last year but the background cardstock is Sage Shadow.
My little pot of sunflowers ushers in fall, from the A Flower For All Seasons stamp set. I used the aqua painter to watercolor the pot with Really Rust, and the leaves are Sage Shadow. Flower is Summer Sun and Close to Cocoa. More Mustard grograin ribbon and brads top it off. I am saving this card for a very special friend who turns 60 next month! Check out how my sketch compares in the right hand corner of my blog!

A Challenge Card!

This card is for Our Creative Corner:Christmas in August and for Mojo Monday 100. The sketch I followed for Mojo is in the pink box. It was fun and I brought out retired DSP, buttons and ribbon and color Baja Blue. The stamp set is Winter Post! It is in the new catalogue. I just bought my first Spellbinders Nestabilities, the scalloped oval shape...the Big Shot handles it nicely! I don't really want to think Christmas just yet, but it really is right around the corner! Enjoy the week and thanks for stopping by!

PPA3 Inspiration Picture...

"School Daze" PPA3

This is my inspiration card from Paper Pal Arts. I have posted the picture we were to gain inspiration from just above this post! Since I am a substitute teacher, it was fun to create from this theme~So.... I used my serif alphabet die and made my letters and fortunately, I kept my Everyday Flexible Phrases set for the chalk board!! My wise little owls were inked in Yo Yo Yellow and Real Red to sit on the blackboard and encourage the learning process!! The base of my card is Whisper White behind Brilliant Blue...primary colors for school of course~ A couple square rhinestone brands top off the school house. Welcome back to school!

Paper Pal Arts Challenge #2

Fall is in the air!!! For this challenge I combined 2 stamp sets...the little leaf in "Autumn Days" and the tree from "Season of Friendship." I used Soft Suede as my card background and layered Dusty Durango and Old Olive using Very Vanilla as my image background. This seemed to be an easy sketch to work with! A little spritzing with the Color Spritzer Tool was fun too. Thanks to the "Pals" for creating this challenge, and congratulations to Mary for her recent Stampin Up award...Rising Star! She has been a star since I discovered her work, and her Pals are just as awesome!

Mojo Monday #98

For this Mojo Monday Sketch I chose my favorite color, Kiwi Kiss, and Orchic Opulence, which I also love. I rolled out "Friendly Words" in Kiwi Kiss, and used my old Stampin Up! circle cutter, to created my circle. After mounting the circle on a layer of Kiwi Kiss, which I paper pierced on each corner, I made my little Sizzlet Daisey Flowers complete with centers of rhinestone brads.
I touch of Kiwi Kiss ribbon and a strip of retired DSP complese the look. Happy Mojo Monday, only on Thursday!! Go to www.mojomonday.blogspot.com for more creative inspiration! These stampers are incredible!

Pals Paper Arts Challenge

This is a brand new challenge from Mary Fish and her Paper Pals! I love following Mary's blog http://www.stampinpretty.com/ so when she introduced this challenge I decided to try. The challenge was to use Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay and Chocolate Chip. So out came the cardstock, some designer paper from the Razzleberry Lemonade series, and the cute new Animal Stories stamp set. Using the scallop die as my background I just got carried away with scallops and round shapes I guess! Anyway, thank you Mary and Pals for a fun challenge! Looking forward to more! Go to http://www.palspaperarts.com/ for more info!

Loads of Love for 2 Card Sketches!

This is my card for "Our Creative Corner" which is the card sketch design, and also for the "Color Throwdown" challenge using Bordering Blue, Rose Red and Pink Pirouette! " entry. I chose the fun "Loads of Love" stamp set for these challenges. It was alot of fun working with the sketch and the colors. I am always stretched when I try one of these, and learn from all the other wonderful and talented stampers who submit their entries.

Color Throwdown Challenge

I wanted to try this Color Throwdown Challenge and chose the snails from the "Garden Whimsey" set because I was thinking it would be nice if summer would just slow down!!! One more month and I head back to substitute teaching and early mornings! I'm not ready yet! But my card actually turned into a "Happy Retirement" card, because the snails just seemed to fit!!! Certainly Celery cardstock was embossed with the dotted swiss cuddlebug folder and layered on Chocolate Chip textured cardstock then some Perfect Plum. My snails are inked in the challenge colors and mounted on a square scallop punch of textured Chocolate Chip. I popped them up on a little stampin dimentional. I just happened to have some retired Ribbon Originals to top it off! Can't wait to give this card to a coworker who is retiring soon where I work part time ( Coldwater Creek !)

Mojo Monday!

For this Mojo Monday sketch I used the Garden Whimsey stamp set with the Razzleberry Lemonade designer paper and Melon Mambo cardstock. I roughed off the circles with my distressing tool. After stamping the butterfly in Crushed Curry I used the rock n roll technique, rolling her in Only Orange then snipped her out and let her sit on some stampin dimentionals! Add some coordinating ribbon and a few "blings" for the body of the butterfly and we have a colorful little card!

Time for Tags!

Using the Level 2 Hostess Set, "Christmas Punch" and the small box pattern which is so easy, I made my own version of Christmas tags.
My colors are retired Riding Hood Red and Baja Blue just because I still love these colors! I also used several punches as you can tell:
Small Tag punch, Large oval, Scallop Oval, and Curly Label. Some silver cord, Baja Blue retired ribbon and red hemp twine "tied" it all up. My box is made of Baja Blue and Riding Hood Red cardstock. Do you realize Christmas is only 5 months away?!!! Just follow this post for directions for the tag box! http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/quad_box.pdf

Animal Stories for Isaac!

My my new little grandson inspired this card! He is 2 months old and it won't be long before I am reading animal stories to him! This card is also for my Mojo Monday sketch. I used the new Tall Tales designer series paper for my background. But the funky giraffe is stamped in Crushed Curry. I created my letters with the Naturally Serif Sizzlet Die strips in Rich Razzleberry cardstock. The ribbon coordinates and the punch adds a playful touch. The center of the punch is from the Razzle Dazzle stamp set.

Color Throwdown Challenge

I decided to try this color challenge, something I havn't done before! I had to use the colors Real Red, Tempting Turquoise and Kiwi Kiss. Upsy Daisey is the stampset I decided to use and I colored the images with my markers in the required colors. I used the same colors for my cardstock and brought out my Kiwi Kiss satin ribbon to top off my card. I red rhinestone brad sparkles up the strip of designer paper. The faded image in back of daisey's is "Friends 24-7."

"Autumn Days"

This is one of the new stamp sets and if you like the nature look, this is such a wonderful set called "Autumn Days." It also has a pinecone and everygreen bough, and a some wheat stalks, great for backgrounds. I stamped the pheasant in Soft Suede on Very Vanilla, with Dusty Durango providing the card base. Kraft cardstock and linen thread give the card a rustic look. The pheasant was also stamped on a round punch and then added on top of my pheasant for some dimention. Using the distressing tool, I scored the edges of the Kraft cardstock. I also sponged on some Dusty Durango and Crushed Curry. Fall is just around the corner!

Animal Stories!

This cute stamp set has a funky giraffe, elephant, owl and whale. It is one of the new Stampin Up! sets. It also has this fun designer series paper to go with it called Tall Tales. So, I used a Mojo Monday sketch to come up with this card. I have never posted on Mojo Monday before, but thought I would give it a try. Using the accent color Bermuda Bay, I colored the whale with the coordinating marker. The other colors are So Saffron and Chocolate Chip. The scallop punch and a brass brad top off the accent, along with So Saffron ribbon.
Come to my "Get the Scoop" party this Sunday and try out some new Stampin Up! products and a scoop of ice cream too! Go to my Stampin Up! website for details.

Wonderful Offer!

I became a demonstrator when this mini starter set was offered 3 years ago!

While anytime is a great time to join the Stampin' Up! family as a demonstrator, joining during July and August is especially sweet!
Starting your own Stampin' Up! business means free and discounted products, plus a little extra cash--and who couldn't use that? Plus, from July 15 - August 31, you can become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for only $85!
The special, limited-time Mini Starter Kit contains many of the items you need to get started in your new business, including
For All You Do stamp set
In Color Classic Stampin' Pads (6)
Whisper White card stock (8-1/2" x 11")
In Color assorted card stock (8-1/2" x 11")
Business forms and tools
Or if you want to buy the standard $199 Starter Kit, in addition to the supplies listed below, you'll get all six of the new In Color Classic Stampin' Pads and one pack of In Color assorted card stock (8-1/2" x 11")--a $43 value! The standard Starter Kit includes
Four stamp sets
A Stampin' Around wheel, handle, and ink cartridge
Stampin' Pastels
Card stock
Eastern Blooms Décor Elements and applicator tool
Five Classic Stampin' Pads
VersaMark Pad
Stampin' Scrub and Mist
Blender pens
Business forms and tools
These special offers--the Mini Starter Kit and the In Color add-on to the standard Starter Kit--are only available for a limited time, so you must act fast!Benefits of Becoming a DemonstratorWhether you just love to stamp, or you want to grow a successful, thriving business, the Stampin' Up! opportunity is the right fit for you. Stampin' Up! demonstrators enjoy many benefits, with just a few listed below:
Product discount. Demonstrators get a 20 percent discount on all Stampin' Up! products, including stamp sets, paper, and accessories. It's a great way to support your love of stamping and paper crafting.
Extra income. You'll earn extra income based on your sales and recruiting--how much extra income is up to you. Maybe you just want enough income to pay the electric bill every month, or maybe your goal is bigger--the monthly payment for your new car--it's your decision! See the Compensation Table for more information.
Flexible schedule. This is your business, so you can put in as much (or as little) time as you'd like.
Just go to my website http://www.traceyparrott.stampinup.net/ to sign up. You can email me with any questions. Join my "Joy Stampers" team! ( tparrott@go-concepts.com)

Razzle Dazzle Razzleberry !

The new In Colors are rich and vibrant! This card is made from the Rich Razzleberry cardstock and ribbon, with a little touch of Crushed Current framing the stamp set...Razzle Dazzle...of course! I punched out the little flower in the set and put it in a Build a Brad. A strip of Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Series paper provides a background for this unique stamp. I can see using it in a multitude of ways. Be sure to check out future postings of new sets and accessories! You can order from the new catalog now...go to my website any time to place your order. You can access the new catalog by clicking on the picture at the right of this post!

Joy Thoughts

Amy Carmichael writes, "I think thankfulness is like a flower. It needs care and cherishing if it is to live and grow. Perhaps thankfulness, even more than some qualities that seem to come naturally to us, is in need of cherishing, because of the withering winds of life. The best way to cause it to grow strong in our hearts is to be careful never to let ourselves be UNthankful.
"Let us cherish thankfulness." Hebrews 12:28

A missionary in India years ago, Amy inspires me with her focus on the Lord applied to daily life.
I think today I need to be on the lookout for ways to thank the Lord and others for simple kindnesses. The grocery clerk at Krogers, the checkout boy, the friend who calls out of the blue, my pastor for his faithfulness to serve, a coworker at work who is helpful...Lord, let me cherish thankfulness and be thankful in all things.

(From: Thou Givest...They Gather - Amy Carmichel)

Water Color Fifth Avenue Floral

I really enjoyed this watercolor technique! I learned it from fellow Stampin Up! demonstrator, Patty Bennett. The Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set has this beautiful rose stamp. It is stamped in white craft ink and clear embossing powder is sprinked over the top. I stamped on Shimmer White cardstock. The rose is then completely spritzed with water. Using reinker and an aqua painter, I dipped the tip of the aqua painter in a dot of Regal Rose and then touched the surface of the rose. The color immediately spreads onto the rose and through the petals. I then added some Yo Yo Yellow! The colors begin to blend and create these beautiful shades! After the rose has dried it is cut out and put on the card. In this picture you can see some other roses I made...just waiting to be added to a card front! You can also find a video tutorial Patty Bennett's blog: www.pattystamps.com.