First Christmas card for this year

The "layout" of this card is a CASE from Gayla O'Dell of MeGa Stampin' Studio. Gayla has a card class each month (she is also a Stampin' Up! demonstrator) and I get her to mail me the kit for her cards. She is VERY creative and I've loved every card I've made that she designed! Here is a list of the items I used to make this card.

Stamp sets: Delightful Decorations, Many Merry Messages

Cardstock/paper: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Jolly Holiday DSP

Ink: VersaMark

Other: Old Olive Satin ribbon, Vanilla embossing powder, heat tool, Ornament punch, stick-on gems (not Stampin' Up!)

All items made by/sold by Stampin' Up! except for the stick-on gems.

Cherry On Top Blog Award

I got this really cute award from Kathy Bradley back on October 14. I was so worried about getting you pics of my Halloween cards and then Thanksgiving cards that I never got this posted! SHAME ON ME! Anyway, along with the award I am supposed to tell you three "fun (or weird) facts" about myself. So, here goes. First, I LOVE paranormal romance books. You know...the ones about vampires and werewolves and such! I especially LOVE the ones about werewolves or "shape shifters"! Second, I consider my dogs and cats my kids. To some that may not seem weird but to alot of folks it certainly is weird. Course, I could care less what those folks think! Third, I drive my husband absolutely INSANE with my being anal about organizing things! He is SO not an organizer and I MUST have stuff organized! I just don't want to have to dig through a pile of "stuff" to find what I'm looking for! I want to know exactly where it is and be able to get my hands on it when I need it! I organize all my stuff. And, then I sometimes re-organize it time and time again! I just drive him NUTS!

I am also supposed to pass this award on to five other blogs that inspire me. Here are the blogs and their makers that I've chosen.

Diane Noble of Diane's Designs - http://www.dianesdesigns.blogspot.com/

Gayla O'Dell and Melissa Rodgers of MeGa Stampin' Studio - http://www.megastampinstudio.com/

Kelly Mayou of The Weekend Stamper - http://www.weekendstamper.blogspot.com/

Mary Jo Price-Williams of TechnoStamper - http://www.technostamper.blogspot.com/

Marisol Gutierrez of A Touch of Sol - http://www.atouchofsol.blogspot.com/

last Thanksgiving card for this year

OK...let me start by saying that I'm not totally pleased with this card. But, I love the Paisley Prints stamp set and wanted to use it. I also LOVE heat embossing! I can still remember the very first time I did heat embossing and I remember thinking "OH WOW! I LOVE THIS!" I know...simple minds sometimes love simple things! And, I SO have a simple mind sometimes! All I did was stamp the leaf image multiple times on the background. Then, I used different fall colored embossing powders. I sprinkled a little here and then a little there and then instead of tilting the card to let the extra embossing powder run off I flipped the card over really quick so that it fell off instead of sliding down the card. That's the only way I could think to get the leaves to have different colors on each leaf. Here are the different items I used to make this card.

Stamp sets: Paisley Prints, Grateful Greetings

Cardstock/paper: Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Old Olive, Autumn Spice DSP

Ink: Soft Suede, VersaMark

Other: various fall colored embossing powders (some Stampin' Up! and some not), heat tool, Stampin' Dimensionals, stick-on gems

All products (except stick-on gems and some embossing powders) made by/sold by Stampin' Up!

another Day of Gratitude Thanksgiving card

Here is another Thanksgiving card I made using the Day of Gratitude stamp set. I love this stamp set. It's so very versatile! No part of the set says "Thanksgiving" other than the stamp with the words on it. So, it can be used just any time of the year! And, I also want to let any of you know that if you have any questions on any of my cards just email me! Or, leave a comment. I don't usually go into the "how" of making my cards because to me it all looks so simple that you can just look at the card and tell how I did what I did. But, if you have any questions about anything just ask! I'll be MORE than happy to share any info with you! Now, here is a list of the items I used to make this card.

Stamp set: Day of Gratitude

Cardstock/paper: More Mustard, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Autumn Spice DSP

Ink: Early Espresso

Other: Small Dots Texturz plate, Big Shot, Cajun Craze Stampin' Write marker, Old Olive Stampin' Write marker, Early Espresso 1/8" Taffeta ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

All products made by/sold by Stampin' Up!

another Harvest Home card

Are you gettng tired of seeing Thanksgiving cards yet? I promise...only a few more and then I'll be moving on to Christmas cards! As a matter of fact, only TWO more Thanksgiving cards! Then, I have an award I got from Kathy Bradley that I'll be showing you. Then, we will move on to Christmas cards! But, for now, it's Thanksgiving! Here is a list of the items/products that I used to make this card!

Stamp set: Harvest Home

Cardstock/paper: Old Olive, watercolor paper, Autumn Spice DSP

Ink: Old Olive, Cajun Craze, So Saffron, Timber Brown StazOn

Other: Metallic brads, Very Vanilla Taffeta ribbon, Ticket Corner punch, AquaPainter

All products/items made by or sold by Stampin' Up!

another Autumn Harvest card

Here's another card I made for this Thanksgiving using the Autumn Harvest stamp set. Here are the items I used to make this card.

Stamp sets: Autumn Harvest, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Cardstock/paper: Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, More Mustard, Autumn Spice DSP

Ink: Early Espresso, More Mustard

Other: 1-1/4" Square punch, 1-3/8" Square punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Word Window punch, Modern Label punch, Early Espresso 1/8" Taffeta ribbon, Aqua Painter, Stampin' Dimensionals

All products made by/sold by Stampin' Up!

Punch Pumpkin Thanksgiving card

This is another CASE from a card I received for the swap I am participating in. The "original" was made by Tasha Enderby. You can see her "original" if you look back at my post for November 2. Here is a list of the items/products I used to make my card.

Stamp set: Harvest Home

Cardstock/paper: Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Autumn Spice DSP

Ink: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie

Other: Small Oval punch, Scallop Trim Border punch, Hemp Twine, Stampin' Dimensionals, sponge

All products/items made by/sold by Stampin' Up!

another Day of Gratitude card

OK....actually TWO Day of Gratitude cards! Only difference between these two is the "fold". I used all the same items/products for both. Here are the items/products I used.

Stamp set: Day of Gratitude

Cardstock/paper: More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, Autumn Spice DSP

Ink: Cajun Craze

Other: Early Espresso 1/4" Grosgrain ribbon, sponge, Stampin' Dimensionals, 1 3/8" Circle punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, stick on gems (not Stampin' Up!)

All items/products made by or sold by Stampin' Up! (other than the stick on gems).

Day of Gratitude

Here is yet another of the Thanksgiving cards I made this year to send to family and friends. I LOVE this stamp set (Day of Gratitude) and this DSP (Autumn Spice). The paper is really nice as it is so thick. It's pretty much as thick as regular cardstock! It also has a slight texture to it. And, of course, the patterns on the paper itself is also very nice! I've been on a kick of using alot of the "stick on" gems lately! I have TONS of them and hardly ever use them! I seem to do that sort of thing alot! I see stuff (brads, ribbon, DSP, other embellishments) that I MUST have and then don't use them because I don't want to use them all up! How silly is that? These gems on this card aren't the ones Stampin' Up! is selling now. I've had these for so long that I decided I needed to use them up before I spend more money buying more! After all these are used up I will buy the ones from Stampin' Up! Here are the items I used to make this card.

Stamp sets: Day of Gratitude, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Cardstock/paper: More Mustard, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Autumn Spice DSP

Ink: Old Olive

Other: Word Window punch, Modern Label punch, Old Olive 1/4" Grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, stick on gems (not Stampin' Up!), Stampin' Write markers in Cajun Craze, Old Olive and More Mustard

All products (except gems) made by/sold by Stampin' Up!

CASE from Cathy Bell

I CASEd this card BIG time from one I received from the swap I am part of! The "original" was made by Cathy Bell. If you'd like to see her card look at my post on November 2. Cathy's card is the first one you will see. Here is a list of the items I used to make my card.

Stamp set: Teeny Tiny Wishes

Cardstock/paper: Old Olive, More Mustard, Very Vanilla, Autumn Spice DSP

Ink: Old Olive

Other: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Word Window punch, Large Oval punch, Scallop Oval punch, 1/4" Old Olive Grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

All products made by/sold by Stampin' Up!

Autumn Harvest Thanksgiving card

Here is another of the Thanksgiving cards I made this year to send to family and friends. Here is a list of the products/items I used to make this card.

Stamp sets: Autumn Harvest, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Cardstock/paper: Early Espresso, More Mustard, watercolor paper, Autumn Spice DSP

Other: Eyelet Border punch, 1/4" Very Vanilla Grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, sponge

All products made by/sold by Stampin' Up!

Autumn Splendor Thanksgiving Card

I made about 14 or 15 Thanksgiving cards this year. This is one of them. VERY simple card! As you can see it didn't take alot of different "stuff" to make this card. Here is a list of the items/products I used to make this card.

Stamp sets: Autumn Splendor, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Cardstock/paper: Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, watercolor paper, Autumn Spice DSP

Ink: Early Espresso, Cajun Craze

Other: Word Window punch, Modern Label punch, 1 1/4" Square punch, Scallop Square punch, Victoria Crochet Trim, AquaPainter

All products made by/sold by Stampin' Up!

September Monthly Card Swap - cards received

Below are the cards I received for the Montly Card Swap that I am participating in. I've made a few "notes" below some of them. As you will see, I CASEd a few of them. You will see my "version" of those that I CASEd later in the month!

I just LOVE the card above. As you can see I took two pictures of it so you could see how it opens! And, yes, I CASEd this one. I'm planning on CASEing it again when I start my Christmas cards! Thanks for the lovely card Cathy!

I CASEd this one too! I used DSP for the strip across in my "version". I don't have the stamp set Debra used but just about any set would work for this layout!

And, I CASEd this one too! I just love punch art! Great job Tasha!

Since the card swap is for Stampin' Up! demos all of us have to use only current Stampin' Up! products. So, yes, all of the cards you see here use only Stampin' Up! products!

September Monthly Card Swap

The card above is the one I made for the Monthly Card Swap that I am participating in. The theme for September was either a Thanksgiving card or a Thank You card. Obviously I went for the Thanksgiving card! I'll upload the pictures of the cards I received tomorrow. Here is a list of the items/products I used to make my card.

Stamp sets: Autumn Splendor, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Cardstock/paper: Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, More Mustard, Early Espresso, Autumn Spice DSP

Ink: Cajun Craze, Early Espresso, More Mustard

Other: Big Shot, Texturz Plates Kit #4, Word Window Punch, Modern Label punch, sponge, Early Espresso 1/4" Grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

All products made by/sold by Stampin' Up!