Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!! We had a little time last night to carve some of our pumpkins. Here is a picture of Hannah & Jake around Hannah's pumpkin.

Today’s sample is for this week’s challenge over at Our Creative Corner. Our October host, Lori Rider, has challenged the OCC to create a card or project using a vintage theme. We warmly invite you to play along, feel free to use your favorite stamps and supplies.

For my sample, I used an old SU set called Old-Fashioned Christmas. I created a shaker card and then just layered some of this beautiful holiday paper by My Mind's Eye. Stitching was done on a couple of the layers and ink was sponged on to give it a warm vintage glow. To finish off the card, I added a sugared border using a NEW holiday punch by Martha Stewart along with some sugared snowflakes.

Would you like to win this card, leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite dessert is. I will announce the winner on Tuesday, November 1st.

Have a fun weekend and don't forget to stop by the OCC to see the other samples by the amazing and creative Design Team.

Have a fun Halloween!! Hugs & Smiles,

Stamps and Smiles Sketch Challenge - SASSC38

Hello and thanks for stopping by! Today’s card is for this week’s sketch challenge "SASSC38" over at Stamps and Smiles. Participate in our weekly challenge for a chance to be our next Guest Designer and a chance to win fun goodie bag. We warmly invite you to play along, feel free to use your favorite stamps and supplies.

On my sample, I used a NEW stamp set by Stamps and Smiles called Fall Harvest. This set is also available in NEW digi format. The paper I got on clearance at Michaels called Recollections - Autumn. I added some stitching and stamped the scarecrow in Memento ink and colored him in using my Copics. To finish off my card, I added the raffia and punched out leaves. The sentiment was stamped on the inside of the card. I will be popping this card in the mail to my Dad for Halloween.

Please stop by the Stamps and Smiles blog to see more samples from the Design Team. There is no time limit on our challenge, so please play along whenever you are able! However to be eligible for the Stamps and Smiles goodie bag, please have your card uploaded by Wednesday, 6 pm CST.

Don't forget to stop by my Christmas blog, most of the cards I will be making in the next few weeks will be given away at my Christmas Card Giveaway. Grab some hot chocolate and check it out.

See you on Halloween morning with a fun sample and giveaway!

Project Tuesday - Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

Hello and thanks for stopping by! I would like to thank all those that are stopping by my Christmas Blog. In the next week or so, I will be uploading some of the cards that will be heading out to some of you. I would also like to add that I have added some NEW digi images to the Stamps and Smiles store. I am using one today, this one is called Have a Holly Jolly Christmas. Please stop by the store and take a peek, we are slowly adding NEW digi images.

Today’s project is for this week’s challenge over at Stamps and Smiles. This week, we are making stair step cards. We warmly invite you to play along, feel free to use your favorite stamps and supplies.

Here is a side view. As you can see I have combined some NEW and old stamps from Stamps and Smiles. To create my stair step card, I used the following sets. Digi image - Have a Holly Jolly Christmas, Stamp sets - Trim a Tree, and Cuppyland.

The house was created using a 3 x 3 piece of chocolate chip cardstock and then again for the roof. I embossed it and then added the scalloped edge using a SU punch. After gluing all of the images to the card, I added glue almost everywhere and then sprinkled on my favorite chunky glitter by Martha Stewart. Good thing I stocked up on it last year, I might be out by the time Valentines Day comes around.

I had a blast putting this card together!! Most of my cards and projects are given away but I think I might enjoy it for a little bit! For more samples using this project idea, please stop by the Stamps and Smiles – Project Tuesday page, The Design Team have some really cute samples to help inspired you!!

Don't forget to visit my Christmas Blog, I have a fun giveaway going on until December 4th. Please stop for a chance to win. Enjoy your week and I will see you Thursday with a fun sketch challenge. Have a fun week! Hugs ~

Our Creative Corner - The Polar Express

Hello & thanks for stopping by! I don't know about you, but it’s been another crazy week here so I welcome the weekend and a little extra time to sleep in. I have been working on the next stamp release plus creating future sketches for our weekly sketch challenge over at Stamps and Smiles. I would like to thank you all for your sweet comments this past week and stopping by my Christmas blog.

My cards for today are for this week’s challenge over at Our Creative Corner. Our October host, Lori Rider, has challenged us to create a card/or project from our favorite holiday movie or book. We warmly invite you to participate, feel free to use your favorite stamps and supplies.

My first card is based on one of my favorite movies "The Polar Express". I made the house out of two pieces of chocolate chip cardstock. One piece for the house and the other piece for the roof. The scallop punch was used to create the scalloped trim on the house. I embossed the house using the diamonds in the rough embossing folder from Cut At Home. To accent the train, I cut some white cardstock and added some curves to it. I used one of my favorite stamp sets from Stamps and Smiles called Tis the Season to be Jolly. To finish off the card, I added some snowflakes and glitter.

My second card was for another fun movie called "The Haunted Mansion". Just a quick Halloween card. Most of it was created using Halloween Sizzix dies and Martha Stewart punches.

Before I go, I would like to tell all of my subscribers that the Stamps and Smiles store has digi images. 4 sets from this past stamp release are available.

Have a fun weekend and don't forget to stop by the OCC to see the other samples by the amazing and creative Design Team. Have a wonderful weekend!

Hugs & Smiles,

Stamps and Smiles Sketch Challenge - SASSC37

Hello and thanks for stopping by! Before I show you my card today, I would like to wish my oldest son a very Happy Birthday ~ Happy Birthday Nick, I LOVE you!!

Today’s card is for this week’s sketch challenge "SASSC37" over at Stamps and Smiles. I created this sketch so the top layer can hold a gift card or you can create a fun tag out of it too. We warmly invite you to play along, feel free to use your favorite stamps and supplies.

For my sample I used a NEW stamp set by Stamps and Smiles called Tis the Season to be Jolly. This fun holiday paper is from My Mind's Eye collection 2009. I added stitching to the card and then embossed the top layer using the winter house embossing folder. After the card was all put together, I added some glue and a little fun sparkle.

Here is a close up of the sparkle and added snowflakes. I stamped Jolly in Memento ink and colored him in using my Copics. I then sponged on some creamy caramel to match the vintage paper. To finish Jolly, I added a little pom pom on his hat.

Please stop by the Stamps and Smiles blog to see more samples from the Design Team. There is no time limit on our challenge, so please play along whenever you are able! However to be eligible for the Stamps and Smiles goodie bag, please have your card uploaded by Wednesday, 6 pm CST.

Don't forget to stop by my Christmas blog, most of the cards I will be making in the next few weeks will be given away at my Christmas Card Giveaway. Grab some hot chocolate and check it out.

See you Saturday with another fun sample and a special announcement & giveaway! Have a fun

day. ~ Hugs & Smiles

Shaker Card

Hello everyone and thanks for stopping by! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Since we were lucky enough to have some warm sunny weather, Saturday we took the family on a haunted hayride then on Sunday we went to the Trail of History. The trail to the festival is a mile long so we got a lot of exercise in! We decided not to bring the wagon and I must say Jake & Hannah did a wonderful job keeping up. The food was SO good, we enjoyed homemade root beer, a smoked turkey drumstick, sweet popcorn and just the feel of being back in the olden days.

Today’s samples are for this week’s project over at Stamps and Smiles. This week, we are making shaker cards. Some of you know that I have made these in the past and I was really excited to make a couple of these shaker cards using my NEW stamps from Stamps and Smiles.

My first sample is using a stamp set called Fall Harvest. I created 3 layers using my Sizzix topnote die - in soft suede, white and acetate. An oval Nestabilities was used to cut out a window on the soft suede piece. I then used a pencil to trace the inside of the oval onto the white piece - this is where I created my scene. The scarecrow and the leaves were stamped and colored in using my Copics.

All the layers of the topnote die were added together and little pumpkins were punched and added for the shaker part of it. As you can see I then decorated the outside of my shaker card by adding a fence, pumpkins and the Indian corn.
Here is another shaker card using the NEW Tis the Season to be Jolly stamp set. I used some more of this darling paper by SU. ~ I LOVE it! Same idea behind putting my card together but I decorated the outside a little differently. This time I embossed the last layer and added snowflakes and glitter. At the last minute, I added the swirls and large snowflake. I filled this shaker card up with GLITTER - of course.

Please stop by the Stamps and Smiles – Project Tuesday page, to see the awesome designs by the Design Team. We warmly invite you to play along, please use your favorite stamps and supplies.

Oh and if your in the Christmas mood, please stop by my Christmas Blog. Grab some hot chocolate and don't forget to sign up for my Christmas card giveaway. You will have until December 4th - please stop by for a chance to win.

Have a fun week & thanks again for stopping by!

Our Creative Corner - Color Challenge

Happy Saturday and thanks for stopping by! My card for today is for this week’s challenge over at Our Creative Corner. This week our October host, Lori Rider, has challenged us to a Color Challenge. We warmly invite you to play along, feel free to use your favorite stamps and supplies.

Lori has put together a wonderful color combination for the fall: Blush Blossom, Sage Shadow, Handsome Hunter and Soft Suede - feel free to use colors that are similar.

For my sample, I want a little country! I just LOVE the warmth of country crafts and I hope I reached it with this card layout!! After adding the stitching and layering, I inked up the floral image using my SU markers. I then used a block stamp over the floral image - lightly. Ink was sponged around the background piece and flowers were added using a small punch and blush blossom cardstock. The final embellishment was to add the heart chipboard coverd in blush blossom cardstock along with the sentiment. I was really happy with the way my card turned out - I must say, in the end, this was a tough challenge for me!!

My card today will be going to a special friend of ours; she collapsed during work and needed open heart surgery. We hope and pray that she makes a full & speedy recovery!

Please stop by the OCC to see the other samples by the amazing OCC designers. Have a wonderful weekend! Hugs & Smiles,

Stamps and Smiles Sketch Challenge - SASSC36

Hello and thanks for stopping by! Today’s card is for this week’s sketch challenge "SASSC36" over at Stamps and Smiles. Every Thursday we post a NEW sketch, we warmly invite you to play along. One participant from our sketch challenge will win a Stamps and Smiles goodie bag, feel free to use your favorite stamps and supplies.

For my sample I grabbed some Fall paper and added some stitching using my Janome sewing machine. The stamp set is a NEW set by Stamps and Smiles called Fall Harvest. After cutting out the image, I added a few spots of adhesive on the back and picked up little pieces of raffia. The image was stamped in Memento ink and colored in using my Copics. To finish off the card, I substituted raffia for the ribbon.

Since I still had some scraps out, I quickly designed a project by turning a pretzel bag into a fun treat. I took a piece of 4.25 x 11 and scored it at 1" and then folded the rest of the cardstock to form a matchbox. I stabled the pretzel bag to the matchbox and decorated the front. Simple and quick, I think I will have to make a few of these for my kids teachers.

Please stop by the Stamps and Smiles blog to see more samples from the Design Team. There is no time limit on our challenge, so please play along whenever you are able! However to be eligible for the Stamps and Smiles goodie bag, please have your card uploaded by Wednesday, 6 pm CST.

See you soon with more samples and projects, have a fun day!

Project Tuesday - Acetate Treat Box

Hello and thanks for stopping by, I hope all of you enjoyed your three day weekend. I would like to wish all of my Canadian friends a Happy Thanksgiving! Today’s project is for this week’s project challenge over at Stamps and Smiles. This week, we are making Acetate treat boxes.

Here is a view looking at the top. Since I ran out of acetate, I used some window sheets from an office supply store. After creating the top and bottom, I used my Martha Stewart border punch and of course some glitter. I created a tag and used a NEW set by Stamps and Smiles called Tis the Season to be Jolly. To finish off the box, I added the snowflake and more glitter

For more samples using this project idea, please stop by the Stamps and Smiles – Project Tuesday page, The Design Team have some really cute samples to help inspired you!!

Oh before I go, I would like to announce the winner for the Stamps and Smiles Blog Hop goodie bag. Congratulations to Ravengirl. Please email me so I can get your goodies out to you.

Don't forget, my Christmas Blog, is back up and I have a fun giveaway going on until December 4th - please stop by for a chance to win. Enjoy your week and I will see you Thursday with a fun sketch challenge.

Our Creative Corner - Sketch Challenge

WOW what a week… I want to thank all those again that stopped by to support Stamps and Smiles and played along with us during our Blog Hop! We all had a blast and am still laughing over the songs that were sung on some of the posts!! For those that emailed me, I will catch up on those a little later today!

Today’s card is for this week’s challenge over at Our Creative Corner. Our October host, Lori Rider, has challenged the OCC to a sketch challenge. Stamps and Smiles will be sponsoring this week's challenge - one lucky winner will win a $25 gift certificate to store.

For my design, I used some NEW paper by SU called Christmas Cocoa Specialty. I added the the layers and did some a little stitching using my Janome sewing machine. The last layer was embossed using one of my favorite embossing folders called Winter House. To finish off the card, I added some ribbon along with some fun swirls and snowflakes. Oh and I can't forget, I also added some chunky glitter by Martha Stewart.

My Christmas Blog is now live, please stop by for a chance to win this card or many other cards that I will be giving away for my Christmas Card Giveaway. The winners for the card giveaway will receive a homemade card from me along with a goodie bag.

Please stop by the OCC to see the other samples by the amazing OCC designers. Have a wonderful weekend! Hugs & Smiles,

Stamps and Smiles Blog Hop/Release Party

Welcome to the Stamps and Smiles Blog Hop!! We want to thank all those that stopped by and played along with us during our release week!! J o l l y is writing a letter to Santa, please help find the letters so he can finish writing it. Jennifer Striker started us off and I am your last stop. J o l l y holds the letter "W".

You will have until 9:30 pm CST tonight to email us your answer. The winner will be announced tonight at 9:45 pm CST on the Stamps and Smiles blog.

Before I go, I have a Stamps and Smiles goodie bag to one of our participants tonight. Please leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite Christmas song is and you will be eligible to win. The winner will be announced on Saturday, October 10th.

Don’t forget to visit the other Design Team blogs for a chance to win more then one goodie bag.

Jennifer Stricker
Lisa Cook
Ann Vento
Cindy Burgess
Dalis
Kim Gruetzmacher
Amanda Gill
Rose Frydrych

Following the blog hop, ALL 5 stamp sets will be available to purchase at the Stamps and Smiles store. For a limited time you can purchase the stamp bundle and save 15%, now through November 15th.

Stamps and Smiles Sneak Peek - Day 5

Thanks for stopping by today!! This is our last day of sneak peeks for Stamps and Smiles. We would like to thank all those that stopped by and played along with us during our release week!!

Don’t forget to stop by the Stamps and Smiles blog tonight for our release party. The party will start at 8 pm CST and end at 9:30 pm CST. Follow us during the Blog Hop and one lucky participant will win the entire stamp release.

Here is the last set being previewed. This set is called I Love Snow. This set measures 4 x 6. It has 11 images and 1 large sentiment. ALL 5 sets will be available tonight at 10 pm CST at the Stamps and Smiles store.

I tried to create a masculine card for each of my cards. I am NOT very good with that but I am happy with the result of both samples. There are close to 100 images with this release, I am sure that this week was just a little taste of what I can come up with. I really had a fun time and hope you all enjoyed the samples from each of the designers.

Have a fun day and I hope to see some of you during our Blog Hop - we have goodie bags to give out!!

Stamps and Smiles Sneak Peek - Day 4

Thanks for stopping by today!! This is our fourth day of sneak peeks for Stamps and Smiles. We would like to thank all those that are stopping by and playing along with us during our release week!!

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for our Release Party/Blog Hop tomorrow night, from 8 pm - 9:30 pm CST. Follow us during the Blog Hop and one lucky participant will win the entire stamp release.

This whole week we have posted the above challenges for you to play along with. One participant from each challenge will win the stamp set being previewed. Play along in ALL four challenges and you could win the entire Fall/Winter stamp release.
Here is the fourth set being previewed. This set is called Trim a Tree. This set measures 4 x 6. It has 14 images and 6 sentiments.

On both of my cards, I stuck with Kraft cardstock and white. I dusted off my Janome sewing machine since I had not used it for a while and stitched up both of my cards. After adding the images to the card, I added glue and more of the Chunky glitter by Martha Stewart. I hope your not thinking when is this girl gonna run out... hopefully never! Cuppy was added to my second card using the NEW set called Cuppy's Winter Wonderland. Both sets will be available to purchase this Friday at 10 pm CST at the Stamps and Smiles store

See you tomorrow with our last sneak peek, enjoy your day.

Stamps and Smiles Fall/Winter Sneak Peeks - Day 3

Hello and thanks for stopping by!! Today is our third day of sneak peeks for Stamps and Smiles. We would like to thank all those that are stopping by and playing along with us during our release week.

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for our release party/Blog Hop this Friday night, October 9th from 8 pm - 9:30 pm CST. If you follow us during the hop, one lucky winner will win the entire stamp release.

We have a fun game today along with another fun sketch challenge. The game is for the third stamp being sampled called ‘Tis the Season to be Jolly. This set measures 4 x 8. It has 16 images and 6 sentiments.

How would you like to win this set and have it before the release? Find Jolly on one of the Design Team blogs and leave your name in Mr. Linky over at Stamps and Smiles with your answer. The winner will be announced tomorrow, October 7th.

On my first sample, I started with a 5 x 5 piece cardstock for the base of my card. Each layer was a 1/4 of an inch small. At first I was going to add some stitching but then decided to leave the lip so I could add some chunky glitter by Martha Stewart. Since the winter paper was still on my table from yesterdays samples, I used it for the background. To fill in the extra room, I added, ribbon, swirls and the tag.

I created my second sample at the last minute. I clicked onto Splitcoast last night and saw that the Sketch Challenge "SC249" was posted and it seem to fit what I had in mind. It worked so I went for it! The background was embossed and I exchanged one of the layers for ribbon. After gluing everything all together, I decided to add the glitter and WOW did it make the whole card pop!

Before I go, I would like to announce the winner for the SAS holiday goodie bag. Congratulations to Karen Wilson. Please email me so I can get your goodies out to you. For those that stop by each week, my Christmas Card Giveaway is back up. Please stop by and sign up, I am giving away some homemade cards along with a little goodie bag. Grab some hot chocolate and click on the link HERE or click on the Christmas house on the top right hand corner.

See you tomorrow with more sneak peeks!!