Stamp Simply-- All Buttoned Up!

Hi all! TGIF! Today's Stamp Simply challenge hosted by the fabulous Sharon Johnson is about being cozy and all buttoned up for winter! It's funny because as I type this, we are just finishing up a 75 degree day. Hard to think about winter! Well, now is the time to do it! To get ready and button up! The challenge - to make a fall card and incorporate a button on it somehow! Oh, and keep it simple! You can check out the official details at Sharon's blog HERE.

With All Hallows Eve here.... I thought it might be fun to do a Halloween theme card. I had the perfect ingredients! My friend Viv recently gave me these darling Crafty Secrets Cotton Scraps and -- they just make up such cute and simple cards! Perfect for a Stamp Simply challenge!

All I did was mat it up on some fun Halloween paper, add some stitching and a fun epoxy button with some Halloween gingham ribbon! I'd say this is Stamped Simply -- but there's no stamping on it!

Want to see what the other Stamp Simply gals cooked up?

Check out Darlene Pavlick’s sample here.
Check out Dee Jackson’s sample here.
Check out Jennifer Buck’s sample here.
Check out Janine Orchard’s sample here.
Check out Tammy Hershberger’s sample here.
Check out Becky Oehlers’ sample here.

Before I go, wish me luck, tonight Cal - my 11 year old- is having all his friends over for a Halloween party. Oh my! Can I handle ten 11 and 12 year olds? On sugar? Really? EEK!

I do have a fun photo to share. My friend Lovely came over yesterday and took some fun pics of Ellie. She is so stinkin' creative! She had this idea that Ellie should have a broom and jump so that she could get a shot of her "flying!" OH MY GOSH! It was so funny, but I have to tell you-- pretty cool results! Check it out! Hope you have a frightfully fun Friday and Halloween! I'll be back tomorrow with some fun Shimmerzy news! You won't want to miss it!

Trick or Treat ... Treats!

Hi all! This is my favorite time of year! I love decking out the house with a spooky flair. I love getting the kiddos all geared up and -- eh-hem, shhhh, don't tell but.... I love candy. HA!

So, to get ready for the night of fright, my mom and I spent the afternoon in the craft room and the kitchen helping to cook up some treats for Cal and Ellie's class! We made suckers for Ellie --- and treat bags for Cal. Ellie's suckers were topped with a cute little matchbox style cover and Cal's treats just had a kind of bag topper. You have got to love those Stampin' Up wheel stamps! Made these projects easy peasy lemon squeezy! Add some color around the eyes with a white gel pen and wham bam... done!
Here's a close up of Ellie's sucker that is underneath the jacket. My mom and I just melted some Wilton's chocolate and put them in molds. What's fun is - I remember my mom doing this kind of thing for me when I was a kiddo. So, to have her here helping make treats was truly fun... and special!

Hope your week is going well and that you're getting in the spirit of all this fall fun! I'll be back late tomorrow with another Stamp Simply challenge!

Forgotten Flowers....

Do you ever do this---- you stamp something and really like it but aren't really inspired to put it into a card so you take the stamped and colored image and you stuff it in a drawer of cards waiting to be finished? I do! Well, I was cleaning out some of those drawers recently when I stumbled upon an old hydrangea image I had colored. It is an old PSX stamp that I still love. I used watercolor pencils to color it and added some stickles to the flowers' centers. Well, I recently got my hands on the Radiant paper pack from Craft Secrets and I thought the green paisley paper in the pack was perfect for my card. It was classic-- just like a hydrangea!

All I did was distress my main floral image, mat it on some lavender, add some sheer ribbon and then attach it to my card front on a slant. If I knew a card would be so easy to put together, I would never have "forgotten" about these flowers in a drawer!

Hope life is treating you all well. Here at the Koerber house, we are getting ready for Halloween! Tonight we decked out the house and tomorrow we start to bag up goodies for the kiddos classes. My mom and I are making chocolate witch suckers. They are too cute! I'll have a show and tell later this week!

Until then.... Happy Stamping!

Knit Happens!

Hi all! Hope you are enjoying your week! I just finished teaching a class at my local knit shop (my other craft addiction) and so, I wrapped up the class with this little gift! I found some little notebooks at Mikes' for a buck and I thought they would be fun to alter! It's a perfect size to stick in your knitting bag to make pattern notes. I LOVED how the pen is attached! No more digging around to find a pen! HA!
The paper is The Paper Studio from Hobby Lobby. All of the stamps are from Amuse. The ribbon I found at Mikes too. Putting it together was just layering paper! The center circle punch is a 1" punch, the layer is 1-1/4" and the base is a scalloped circle punch from Stampin' Up.

Here's a close up!
So, that's it my friends! The paper has been flying in my craft room and my mother and I's hands are officially inky! So.... stay tuned! We'll have more to come!

EXCITING NEWS!

We're only days away from the launch of a BRAND NEW product line for Shimmerz! Wait til you see these FIVE new colors! I can't tell you too much about them--- but I will say the shimmer on these colors is off the charts! They will be perfect to add that special glitz and glimmer to your holiday cards! Want to win the set? Click HERE and leave a comment -- be sure to tell them I sent ya!! :-) You have until 11:59 PM on October 31st. So click on over and sign up!!

Happy Stamping!

Hi all! Well, mom is here and we are already having fun! We started off her trip right off the bat with a stamping excursion! My SU lady (Miss Sheila) was nice enough to hold a private class for us making this card set!

Here's a look at the portfolio.....

And here were the cards that we made that are actually stuffed in cello bags on the inside! Five adorable cards using some really cool background paper and those fun new felt snowflakes! We also used the buid-a-brad set to make the fun coordinating brads. There is very little stamping! We used Versamark ink to make the snowflake backgrounds on the card and the sayings are all rub-ons! Isn't that the coolest thing? Super easy peasy! Here's a close up of the uber cool felt flakes!

Well, sorry this is so short. My mom is on her second glass of wine and I tell ya, watching her is cheap entertainment! HA!

Take care!

Stamp Simply - In no time flat!

Hi all! TGIF! Time for another Stamp Simply challenge! This one is all about showing workers at the post office love! You know we are all guilty of sending those lumpy bumpy and beautiful cards through the mail. We want them hand cancelled and we are pretty fussy about that! Well, this week's challenge is about FLAT cards! Cards you can mail without extra postage!

You can check out all the details of ssnotime58 over at Sharon's place!

Keep in mind - flat doesn't mean no layers. It just can't be lumpy and bumpy in the envie. It's a perfect kind of card for the holidays-- so show us what you've got!

Here's my card...


For my card, I chose to use some Magenta stickers I have been hanging on to for a while! You can see underneath my card, I have the sticker sheet. You'll notice that they are solid gold. I ended up coloring the flower on the sticker with purple and green Sharpies. I layered it up with gold mirror card stock. The background on the main mat of the card was done with Raisin Adirondack ink and the background stamp in the Bird And Vine set by Flourishes. I thought it matched my sticker perfectly! It almost looks as though they were made for eachother! Add some Martha Stewart ribbon and a hot fix gold nail head (Kandi Corp.) and you are done! As Jennifer Buck would say -- Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!! :-)

Here's a closeup so you can see how the sticker was colored...

Want to see what the other gals cooked up?

Check out Darlene Pavlick’s sample here.
Check out Dee Jackson’s sample here.
Check out Jennifer Buck’s sample here.
Check out Janine Orchard’s sample here.
Check out Tammy Hershberger’s sample here.
Check out Becky Oehlers’ sample here.

Well, my mom arrived safely. Thanks to all who said "give her a hug for me!" She blushed and said something equivalent to, "Aw shucks!" We both wish you were all here too! You can bet there will be a stamp fest brewing here in my neck of the woods! Stay tuned for the details! ;-)

Much to be thankful for....

Hi all! Today's the day! Mamacita arrives! You know, "the Rubber Maid." I can't wait! It will be so nice to have some time to just visit. It's so hard when you live 1800 miles away!

Not to long ago, I went to a Stampin' Up shin-dig put on by my friend Sheila. I joke that she's my pusher! We had a ton of fun making cards and projects and this.... is one of them!
It's a "thanksgiving" box. Not as in the holiday, but the gifts in our lives. Sheila said that she uses one of these handmade boxes in her own home. The box doesn’t have a lid. It’s always there and it’s always open. Small pieces of paper sit next to the box where her family can jot down things they are thankful for and stuff them in the box. At the end of the month, the box is dumped out, the slips of paper are read and the family reflects on all the good things that touched their lives. Isn't that the coolest thing? I haven't started to use my box yet but I have high hopes that I will. I wish I could tell you more about the products we used! It was in a kit at the class!

Don't you love the dimension added by layering the leaves? I thought it was a cute creation and it was a ton of fun to make! Hope life is treating you all well!

I'll be back Friday with another Stamp Simply challenge! Let me give you a hint--- this is a challenge that would have the post office smiling-- big time! Now aren't you curious??? :-)

Getting Ink-e

I have to say, can someone check my head? Do I have a fever? How's my complexion--- do you think I am pale? Seriously, I have gotten more stamping done in the last week than I think should be possible! I must not be feeling well!! LOL!

Actually, I have just finished up some severe work deadlines and I have just rewarded myself with some time in my stamp room! Yesterday morning I grabbed a cup of coffee and my laptop and logged on to SCS to see what kind of challenges they had out there! While I've only played a few times, I really love the Featured Stamper challenge. I love looking and being inspired by other people's work. It is just so refreshing! So, I got Ink-e! That is Emily's screen name for SCS and she was this week's Featured Stamper! (FS89)

THIS is the card that inspired me. I loved the monochromatic look, the layout, well, pretty much everything! To change this up, instead of blue, I chose a black and white combo!
I used different stamps too and then, I added some bling! The Stamps were Spring Ephemerals (Flourishes), Rummage Bin (Cornish Heritage Farms) for the background flourish image and the saying, "Friend," was from the Flourished Words set from Flourishes! Add some sheer ribbon, some Hodge Podge Hardware and some pewter self stick pearls and you're done!

If you need some inspiration, you should really take a trip to Emily's gallery. She has some great cards and some fun layouts too! I had fun just taking a peek at all her recent creations!

I'm am off to go on a cleaning binge! My mom is coming tomorrow and I have to ready the place for the "Queen!" LOL! Just kiddin' ma! Actually, who doesn't want to roll out the red carpet for their mom! ;-)

Until tomorrow!

Impression Obsession -- Tag, You're It!

This month, challenge master Kelli decided our Impression Obsession challenge should be tags! So, I thought and thought and came up with this little number!I used the Tree Flourish stamp all along the side of my tag and the saying is called Peaceful Holiday. Now, the mat behind is a tag that is about 1/4" larger all the way around. I attached it actually - with the ribbon that is strung through! Why? Well, I wanted a tag that I could use to write a note inside.... or.... use some double stick tape to adhere a gift card. This tag is the perfect size to completely conceal the card underneath!

This is what it looks like when it swings open... Now to the coloring! I used watercolor pencils to color my trees with two shades of green. I colored the berries with a red marker and then used my Quickie Glue Pen to make dots on the trees and added some 2mm rhinestones. I found these teeny tiny rhinestones in a package in the jewelry aisle at Michaels. You need tweezers to attach these babies! I'll tell you that! Here's a close up.... See that sparkle on parts of my tree and berries? I added Royal Red Shimmerz to the berries and Cande Light Shimmerz to the stars.
That's it my friends! Want to see what some of the other IO gals cooked up? Click away!

Dina Kowal- Guest Designer
Daniela Dobson
Deborah March
Kelli Richardson
Laura Fulcher

Thanks for stopping by!

Edited to Add: Dina asked how big this tag was -- well, the outer mat is roughly 3-1/4" by 4-1/4". Hope that helps! I didn't use a tag template, I just made my own with some simple cuts.

Santa loves a little shimmer(z)!!

Gosh, I can't believe we are getting really close to crunch time for Christmas cards! I know some of you out there are probably saying -- HUH? Well, normally I make my Christmas cards in the summer so that I can sit back and not worry. I mean, don't we already have enough on our plates during the holiday season?

So, this weekend I got some holiday creating done! Today's card is one that uses images that I think are just too stinkin' cute!!! I didn't have any Lizzie Anne Designs stamps and now I really think I need more! They are nicely etched rubber and stamp wonderfully!

So, I made this little number using the Rockin' Holiday set! I wanted a kind of spunky layout - something off center and just whimsical. I love how the set includes a little cookie and milk plate! I popped it off to the side so that it was "waiting" for Santa! I used a circle cutter, a 1/14" punch and my scalloped circle punch from SU. One thing you can't see in the main photo is just how much Santa sparkles! I colored him with Shimmerz paint!
Here's a close up! I used Royal Red on his suit, Angel Wings on his beard, Coal to his boots, candlelight to color the milk, and added some Mocha to the chocolate chips! I also added some white Liquid Applique to his hat and jacket to give it that fuzzy feel. Before the applique was heat set, I did sprinkle some prisma glitter on it so that Santa's hat would sparkle too!
The rest is decorative paper, some fun Christmas ribbon and some red bling!

How are you all doing on your Christmas/holiday cards? In the envelope ready to be addressed? Or, scraps of paper not even close to being created? I'd love to hear!! Happy Monday! Hope you had a fabulous weekend!

Stamp Simply--- no pictures!

Hi all! Time for another fabulous Stamp Simply challenge! Only, this one isn't from the fabulous Sharon Johnson--- we have a guest hostess this time! Heather Telford won a chance at writing up the latest Stamp Simply challenge when we celebrated the 1 year anniversary of Stamp Simply! So.... here goes! For ssnotime57 you have to design a card without using ANY image stamps -- that means no flowers, no butterflies, no snowflakes, no cute people, no nothing! The only stamps you can use are sentiment or background stamps. Feel free to use designer paper and other accessories but leave the picture stamps on the shelf! For more deets, check out Sharon's place!

My card is heavy on the pearl! I used pearl paper for my flourish (Quick Kutz Revolution die), my scalloped circle (SU punch), and then, I used my Damask background stamp, stamped it with Versamark and covered it with Pure Mica Luster Pearl powder. Add the sentiment which is from the JustRite Wedding Ensemble. Can you see that fab shimmer? Add some pearls, ivory satin ribbon, pearl paper punched with my Stampin' Up scalloped edge punch and wham, bam.... you're done! It looks like a complicated card, but it really was a quick card! I actually said to my hubby - tell me what you think of this card without really looking too close at it because I actually made it for you but I didn't want to tell you! HA! Yep, I am "that way!" LOL!

Want to see what the other gals with the Stamp Simply team cooked up?

Check out Heather Telford’s sample here.
Check out Darlene Pavlick’s sample here.
Check out Dee Jackson’s sample here
Check out Jennifer Buck’s sample here.
Check out Janine Orchard’s sample here.
Check out Tammy Hershberger’s sample here.
Check out Becky Oehlers’ sample here.

Hope you make time to play this week! We love to see your take on these challenges!

TGIF!

Just a quick post tonight!

Hi all! Just a quick post tonight to show you a quick and easy way to dress up your Christmas packages! I was stamping some of the little poinsettias from the set Poinsettia and Boxwood -- It's a new Flourishes release. I realized, those little flowers are perfect additions to tags for gifts! So, I stamped each flower two times and cut them out so that I could end up layering them!

The first tag is one that is actually a card style. I stamped the "To" and "From" from Flourishes Holiday Greetings set inside. I did this on the back on the other tag. Add some fun paper (gotta love that Christmas Glitter paper), some great ribbon, fun gold bling and cording and you're pretty much done!

Here's a look at the inside!

That's it my friends for now! I am tuckered..... need sleep!!! ;-)

I'll be back tomorrow night with the latest Stamp Simply challenge! It's a fun one!

Cooking Up A Delicious Gift!

Hi all! I don't know about you, but when the holidays roll around, I always seem to search for those fun little hand made creations to show people how much I appreciate them in my life! People like my hair dresser, my kids' teachers, my nail lady, you know - those people you see regularly that just need that little pick me up!


So, when I saw the new JustRite Baking Ensemble - I thought -- I NEED THAT! IT'S PERFECT! I made homemade candy and fudge, so you can see why this set would be awesome! (Note: if you like this set and want to snatch it up like I did -- know that you also need the actual 2-5/16" wood stamper as well in order to stamp with it!)


I thought of the hot cocoa stamp for a little sleeve of the gourmet drink! Well, when I started thinking, I remembered a project I learned how to make years ago! This project has been around the block - so to speak - so if you've seen it before - you can fast forward. If you haven't, stay tuned, it really is a fun little project to make!

Start with a 5-1/2" by 10" piece of patterned paper, score it 4" in and 8" in so that you have two 4" panels and a 2" overhang. After you score and fold, punch a hole in the center of the two 4" panels like I did below.
Make a 2" strip of patterned paper and score the same way. I also edged by red patterned piece with a bit of gold leafing pen for a little extra something!
Now, take roughly 20" of ribbon and string one through the inside left of your sleeve.
String the other end through the inside hole on the right. This ribbon will help hold your packet of hot chocolate in place! Seal it up and adhere your decorative strip.Now it's time to focus on the little "hot chocolate label!"
If you look back at the stamp set, you might not realize, each stamp is actually a ring of words and then the inner image. They can be mixed and mingled to create dozens of options! I kept my ring exactly as shown! I stamped it red and then inked up the Gourmet Hot Chocolate part of the inner stamp with a green marker. I didn't ink up the cup yet! Instead, I inked the cup with Versamark ink and stamped it on a scrap piece of white card stock and embossed it with gold detail embossing powder. I colored the cup with two shades of green Copic markers. I colored the hot chocolate with two shades of brown and then added some Liquid Applique so my whipped cream would be all fluffy! While the Applique was still wet, I sprinkled on some prisma glitter and then heat set the Applique to puff it up!

From here, punch out the label with either a Marvy Mega Scalloped Circle punch or a Spellbinders Nestabilites Scalloped Circle die. I used a circle cutter to create both my green and red mats. Mat it all up, add some rhinestones where the little dots are on the stamped border and.... you're ready to slip your hot chocolate inside! Now, excuse my low fat Swiss Miss. Before I give this little number away, I'll go shopping for a bit of the good stuff!! ;-)

This is what it looks like with the hot chocolate in the sleeve….
And, this is what it looks like when you pull up on the ribbon! It just slides that hot cocoa right up!
Pretty slick, huh? This one is easy enough to mass produce – which makes it even better!

Being that this is the 15th, the You Know You Rock Challenge will soon be up and ready to roll! Be sure to check it out!

Before I go, I wanted to share the sweetest card I got in the mail Tuesday. When I saw the return address, I smiled because my bud Jacki has been someone I visit for well over a year now! If you head on over to the Card Castle and read up you can actually read the smile in her voice! She's just too endearing. Not to mention, her cards are out of this world! So, when I opened up the envelope and saw this beautiful card, MY smile grew even bigger! The note inside was just too sweet. So, thanks Ms. Jacki! I hope you feel a big hug coming your way! You are just too cool for words!
Well folks, this post is getting to be book length! I might as well call it a day! Until tomorrow!

Are you ready to rock!?!?

Well folks you have a few hours left to get over to Y.ou K.now Y.ou R.ock and vote for the person who rocked it the best with the background music! Click HERE to see the fabulous entries... and exercise your right to VOTE!

With the voting about to close - what does that mean? Well, a whole new challenge is about to be unveiled! I can't tell you the deets yet -- but, this one will be a blast! Want to see my card and try to guess?????
This card was so fun to put together because - when you look at it- it's basically just patterned paper and some fun embellishments. there is one - yes - one stamped image - the spider web on the tag (Hero Arts). That's it! I used the Halloween Cotton Scraps from Crafty Secrets for my main image. Gotta love the kitty rockin' out! I sewed around the outside of my cotton scrap and frayed the edges a bit. Mat it on to some black and polka dot glitter paper (Hobby Lobby) and then assemble! The purple background paper is also from Hobby Lobby as is the black sheer wired ribbon and silver cording. The "trick or treat?" tag is actually computer generated and was punched with a 1" circle punch and then matted on a 1-1/4" orange circle.

That's it my friends! Make sure you click on to YKYR tomorrow for all the fun-filled and festive challenge details!

Until then!

Cards 4 Kids!

Hi all! Today's post is a shameless plug for my mom and a new charity effort she just started. I think it's marvelous! And, she got the idea from our bloggin' bud Bela over at Bela's Creating Place. For some time, Bela has delivered handmade cards and notebooks to her area's children's hospital to try to put a smile on these kids' faces! Well, my mom got to thinking. She could do the same and impact the lives of kids in the greater-Detroit area! She started Cards 4 Kids! Cards are needed for all ages (up to 20 years old) and will target all the major holidays - Christmas, Hannukah, Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, etc. as well as Thinking Of You cards and Birthday cards. Do you have a few spare cards to help these children who are facing so much at such a young age? Cards can have stamped or computer generated sayings inside but otherwise, keep them blank. These will be used by the caregivers and parents who are staying with their children at the hospital. It's a way we can help these parents lift the spirits of these children when they can't make a mad dash out to the Halmark store. My mom is also taking in altered notebooks -- something that will fit in a pocket or a purse. When you are a parent of a child in the hospital - it's not uncommon for unplanned meetings with your child's doctor. Having a notebook handy to jot down information on your child's care is critical.


Do you want to help in the effort to put smiles on the faces of hospitalized kids? Just email my mom at mrsmiley6@aol.com for the details!

Today's card is actually one that landed in the box headed for my mom and her cause! I packed up all those cards that I have made over the last year that I thought might fit this cause!

I love this image. It's one of Melanie Muenchinger's sets released through Gina K Designs called Cuddles and Hugs. It's a PERFECT set for this cause! I love how these kitties are just snuggled up together!

I used my nesties scalloped heart and classic heart to create my heart and frame. I stamped the kitties in black and then used some pink chalk to give the kitties a soft glow. Outline them with a super light grey marker and then use the patterned paper to paper piece the spots on one of the kitties. Mat it up with a scalloped edge and some scraps of paper for the "Purrfect friends" saying! That's it!

Here's a close up... gotta love that snuggling that's going on!

So, if you have some extra cards lying around and would love to help! Just email my mom or visit her blog HERE for details!

Good luck MOM! Can't wait for a progress report! Until tomorrow!