Watercolor Wash

It was just plain fun to try my hand at doing some water coloring.  I don't do much of it but it does stretch me when it is offered up as a challenge.  The Friday Mashup Challenge this week was to create a project with a watercolor wash, create a CAS or one with minimal layers or mash it up and use both.  As always, I tried both.

The watercolor wash background was done on watercolor paper.  I used Dimensionals to pop up the background.  Sometimes I have a hard time getting the water color paper to stay stuck, especially after it's been wet.  Of course, I had to use my all time favorite stamp set, Lovely As a Tree!

 
Stamp Sets:  Lovely As a Tree, Kinda Eclectic, Trust God; Inks:  Crushed Curry, Marina Mist, Pear Pizzazz, Hello Honey, Mossy Meadow, Jet Black Archival Ink (Ranger); Card Stock:  Lost Lagoon, Watercolor Paper; Accessories & Tools:  Rhinestone Basic Jewels
All Stampin' Up!® product, unless otherwise noted.

The Friday Mashup Challenge can be found HERE.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Happy Father's Day

It's no secret that I love trees.  When I saw the challenge for The Friday Mashup, I knew exactly what I wanted to create.  One of my all time favorite Stampin' Up!® stamp sets is Lovely As a Tree.  It is one of the first sets I ever purchased and remains at the top of my go list to this day.  For today's card, I used one color, Soft Suede.  I really like the way it turned out.  Clean and simple with a touch of gold.

Stamp Sets:  Lovely As a Tree, Teeny Tiny Wishes (Stampin' Up!); Ink:  Soft Suede (Stampin' Up!); Card Stock:  Soft Suede, Very Vanilla (Stampin' Up!); Accessories & Tools:  Gold Sequin Trim (Stampin' Up!), Birch Trees Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz), Dimensionals

Trees, dry or heat embossing or both.  it's all up to you.  You can find out more about The Friday Mashup Challenge HERE.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Well, at least that is what they say.  I wanted to give you all a heads up that I might be away for a few days.  Both of my computers have issues and are going for a check up.  I'm not sure about the desktop, though.  It's ten years old and I may have just worn it out.  Tomorrow will tell the rest of that story.  As for the laptop, we can chalk that one up to the user.  Yup, little old me!  I think I deleted some files I shouldn't have when I did some clean up.  It's not the first time that has happened.  I just have to hope that my computer guru didn't clean my backup off his external drive.  But then, he may be able to add back what I took off without having to do that.  Only time will tell.  I'm not sure how long I'll be without my computers.  Sigh...

In the meantime, I dug out the very first card I ever made.  That was back in October 2010.  I had no idea what I was doing and had to be told a bazillion times what we were doing.  Thankfully, the demonstrator was very patient and just kept repeating until I got it.  I always have a tendency to make things harder than what they are.  :-)  The Lovely As a Tree stamp set is still my favorite from Stampin' Up! 

Wow, I'm going to have to retake this as this does not do the card justice and I've learned a lot about photography since I took this shot.

So, I'm shutting down for the night and getting this little critter packed up and ready to roll tomorrow.  It's going to hard to have both computers gone.  Whatever will I do?

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Sincere Salutations Holiday Greetings

Today's card is the one I made for the Rainy Day Sketch Challenge by Susan Roberts.  I love the new In Color Midnight Muse and the Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack from the Holiday Catalog.  And, you can't forget my favorite stamp set, Lovely As A Tree.

Stamp Set(s):  Lovely As A Tree, Sincere Salutations (retired); Ink(s):  Midnight Muse, Cherry Cobbler; Card Stock:  Midnight Muse, Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack; Accessories & Tools:  Scallop Oval Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, 3-1/2" Scalloped Tulle Ribbon/Crumb Cake, Dazzling Details, Stampin' Dimensionals

I like the clean, crisp simplicity of this card.  It really makes the evergreen tree stand out.

Now I'm off to enjoy this beautiful fall day.  Clear blue sky and sunshine.  It doesn't get any better than this.

Fab Friday Challenge #2

The weekend was jammed packed with making new projects for upcoming craft shows as well as finishing up an order for gifts.  In between all that, I managed to get the next Fab Friday Challenge designed.  It is a color challenge this time and I had to combine Sahara Sand, Basic Gray and So Saffron.  My favorite (yes, I know, I have a lot of those!) stamp set and second only to Lovely As A Tree, is Serene Silhouettes.  When I first saw it, I told my friend and phone buddy, Jean, if I got nothing else I had to get that one.  As you can see, I did.  I'm so happy!

Stamp Set(s):  Serene Silhouettes, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Ink(s):  Basic Gray; Card Stock:  Sahara Sand, Basic Gray, So Saffron, Neutrals Designer Series Paper Stack/Basic Gray; Accessories & Tools:  Modern Label Punch, Word Window Punch, 5/8" Organza Ribbon Whisper White/dyed Basic Gray, Pearls Basic Jewels, Mini Glue Dots

Although it doesn't show up well in the photo, I did do some distressing to the edges of the Sahara Sand card base and the layer of So Saffron with the image was crumpled before attaching it to the layer of Basic Gray.  So, what do you think? 

It's Still Christmas in July

Apparently, my thinking Christmas got the weather's attention because the temperature today has been almost decent.  Well, if you can call temps in the 90s decent.  I'm so very grateful for air conditioning.  What's funny about that is as a child we didn't have air conditioning but there was a fan in every room.  When did we become such whimps?  :-)

Here is the other Christmas card I designed.  It's a triple layer card and I really like this technique.  It also features Raspberry Ripple and Gumball Green.

Stamp Set(s):  Lovely As a Tree, Christmas Lodge; Ink(s):  Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green; Card Stock:  Raspberry Ripple, Whisper White; Accessories & Tools:  Scallop Oval Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

Oh my, I just got another idea so I'm off to give it a try.

Lovely As A Tree

Over the next few days I'll be sharing with you the cards I made for a class being held at the Crafters Gift Boutique, a craft store that features work of local crafters and it's where I have a display.  It is scheduled to be a Valentine Card Class but I decided to show a birthday card just to show them that with a change of sentiment, you can fit a card to your need.

Lovely As A Tree is a great stamp set to use for a birthday.  It can be either masculine or feminine.  The one I made is more of the former.  To make it more feminine, you could add a bow made with ribbon and change the sentiment to a more frilly one.

Stamp Sets:  Lovely As A Tree, Delightful Dozen; Inks:  River Rock, Old Olive, Night of Navy; Card Stock:  Naturals White

This is the first card in a set of five.  It is a very easy card  and all there is to it is stamping.  I wanted to start out clean and simple to show them that you don't need a lot of product to make great cards.

Until we meet again...

I'm So Excited!

Over the long holiday weekend, a friend and I have been working together to get my office/craft area organized.  It's been great!  Everything that has just been lying around now has its place and I feel so much better.  I have never enjoyed clutter and lately, I was feeling very cluttered up.  While the organizing continues today, the end result is within sight and that makes me so very happy.  Creating, classes and all the other events at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe are going to be so much easier.

With the organization process, I've not spent a lot of time creating.  The card I'm sharing with you today is the very first card I ever made.  It's what started me down the Stampin' Up!® path.  There was no turning back!  I love stamping!

Stamp Sets:  Lovely As A Tree, Inspired by Nature; Inks:  Uncertain (but will find out and add); Card Stock:  Soft Suede, Whisper White, Glossy White; Accessories: Modern Label Punch, Brayer

The card was made back in October 2010.  I can't figure out the color of ink but will ask my Upline, since she is the Demonstrator who presented the Workshop I attended, and I'll add it when I know.

It was just two weeks later, at the end of November 2010 that I signed up as a Stampin' Up!® Demonstrator.  Click HERE to join my team and let the fun begin with your own business and sharing your passion for stamping and scrapbooking.

Blessings from Marsha

Christmas Lodge Tree

Finally, I had a chance to play with some of my new Holiday Mini products.  What I find so interesting about all of this, is usually I'm the last one to even begin to think of Christmas until after Thanksgiving.  With all the fantastic new products, Christmas has grabbed hold and we're off and running.  Yes, I will tone it down the closer we get to Thanksgiving.  I do have several Thanksgiving projects in the design sketch stage that I will share with you later.

In the meantime let me introduce you to one of my favorite sets from the Holiday Mini, the Christmas Lodge Stamp Set.  This is just one of six stamps in the set.  I have a thing for trees so when I saw this one, I just knew we were going to become close friends. While this is a pine tree, my favorite tree is the oak.  Tall, majestic and beautiful, they are a study in the sturdiness of God. There is no other way to describe them.   The Lovely As A Tree Set has a fantastic oak tree stamp.

Stamp Set:  Christmas Lodge; Inks:  Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler; Card Stock:  Early Espresso, Whisper White; Accessories:  Cherry Cobbler Emboss Powder, 3/8" Early Espresso Quilted Satin Ribbon, Big Shot, Top Note Die, Sponge Dauber, SNAIL Adhesive, Mini Glue Dots

Tomorrow's card will feature another stamp from the Christmas Lodge Set.  And, be sure to place your Summer Mini order soon.  Next Wednesday is the last day you can order from that Catalog. 

Blessings from Marsha

Christmas in August

I know, who is thinking of Christmas at this time of the year.  Well, today was the start of a monthly Christmas Card Class at the Cafe.  I thought it would be fun to give everyone a chance to make their cards to send to family and friends this year.  Each month will feature a different design.  The simplicity of this card was appreciated by all.

Snow Trees

Stamp Sets:  Lovely As A Tree, Joy (retired), Itty Bitty Backgrounds (retired); Inks:  Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White Craft; Card Stock:  Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White; Accessories:  Dazzling Details

I can remember scenes like this as a child when we would go hunting for the perfect Christmas tree.  Many times it would be snowing and we'd come home cold, wet and ready for some of Grandma's special hot chocolate.  Fond memories of time with family.

Tomorrow I'll show you a card made from one of the sets out of the Summer Mini Catalog.  August 31st is the last day you can order from that catalog, so place your order soon. You can order here or call me or e-mail with me with your order and payment information.  The Cafe is always open.

Blessings from Marsha