Retro Sketches 147

Here it is again after midnight and I'm still awake.  I had planned to call it a day sooner but got side tracked.  Now isn't that just the way it goes when you get an idea in your head that just won't let you go?  I've been wanting to take the trees from the White Christmas Stamp Set and add some hearts to them rather than leaves.  I used the little heart from the Holiday Home Stamp Set.  I think it made a cute Valentine's Day card.

Stamp Sets:  Holiday Home (heart), Pictogram Punches (sentiment), White Christmas (trees); Inks:  Baked Brown Sugar, Blushing Bride, Pink Pirouette, Real Red; Card Stock:  Blushing Bride, Glitzy Glitter Card Stock Stack (DCWV), Stacked with Love Designer Series Paper Stack, Whisper White; Accessories & Tools:  Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack, Glue Dots, Dimensionals, SNAIL Adhesive

The sketch I used is from Retro Sketches.  You can find more inspiration and the challenge details HERE.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

The Friday Mashup! 191

It's a sparkly snowflake covered world I live in today.  Yesterday we had a nice little snow storm come through that left nearly seven inches of snow behind.  With the wind, it's sending sparkly snowflakes through the air and making for a very pretty view out of my craft studio window.  I guess that makes up for the bitter cold that arrived after the snow.

The snow fit perfectly with the current Friday Mashup! challenge.  It's a project with a winter theme or a project with a few snowflakes or a Mash It Up! with a winter project with snowflakes.  I don't think it gets much more wintery than a fresh blanket of snow on the ground.  The sentiment is a little hard to read in the photo since it's stamped with Soft Sky but up close and personal, it's really pretty.

Stamp Set:  Beauty of the Season; Ink:  Soft Sky; Card Stock:  Soft Sky, Whisper White; Accessories & Tools:  Snowflurries Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz), Decorative Label Punch, Gelly Roll Glitter Pen, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Dimensionals, SNAIL Adhesive

Challenge details and more inspiration for The Friday Mashup! Challenge can be found HERE.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Lovely Lotus Blossom

One thing about cleaning up your craft area is you come across so many things that you've saved but had forgotten they were saved.  :-)  I have a top that I love to wear but the decoration is slowly starting to fall off so it's been regulated to an every day shirt that is only worn at home.  It's a flat bead or brad or I'm not sure what to call it but I saved those that have fallen off.  The Paper Players theme challenge to use a recycled or re-purposed item was a perfect reason to use them on my card.  The colors I used are from the Pals Paper Arts challenge.

This is my first opportunity to use the Lotus Blossom stamp set from the new Sale-A-Bration Catalog and I have to say it is a great set.  I love the tabs that are on the stamps so you can line things up perfectly.  And, I love that it's a three-step image.  The colors I used for the blossom are Night of Navy and Wisteria Wonder.  I could have used one color and let each ink layer darken the image but I like that Night of Navy as the bottom layer.  It really gave some depth to the flower.

Stamp Sets:  Lotus Blossom, Lovely Little Labels (retired); Inks:  Night of Navy, Wisteria Wonder, Card Stock:  Wisteria Wonder, Night of Navy, Whisper White, Glitzy Glitter Card Stock Stack (DCWV); Accessories & Tools:  Brass Bracket, Brass Brads, Linen Thread, SNAIL Adhesive, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

All Stampin' Up!® product unless otherwise noted.

You can find more inspiration and challenge details HERE at The Paper Players.

More inspiration and challenge details for Pals Paper Arts can be found HERE.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Lost Lagoon Butterfly

So, it's six degrees (NO, that is not a typo!) out there and you can guess what I'm doing in here, right?  Right!  I'm spending the day in my craft studio reorganizing and in between, when I need a break, I'm making some new projects with some of my new goodies from the new 2015 Occasions Catalog that goes live on Tuesday, January 6th.  Sale-A-Bration, where you can earn free products for every $50 purchased, also starts and WOW! do both catalogs have some mighty fine new products.  I'd say my new year is off to a great start!

Today's card was made with the color challenge from Colour Me...! and the sketch from the MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge.  I used my new Butterflies Thinlits Dies.  I love how open and intricate the butterfly wings are.  For this one, I used a sheet of paper from the All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack.

Stamp Set:  Painted Petals (sentiment); Ink:  Lost Lagoon; Card Stock:  All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack, Stacked with Love Designer Series Paper Stack, Whisper White; Accessories & Tools:  Butterflies Thinlits Dies, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, SNAIL Adhesive, Dimensionals, Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine

All products Stampin' Up!® unless otherwise noted.

The challenge at was to pick a color scheme from one of the previous 51 challenges.  It's their 1st Anniversary but instead of an anniversary card, I made a thank you card.  I wanted them to know that I so appreciate their challenges.  I'm looking forward to their second year of challenges, too!

You can find the challenge at Colour Me...! HERE.

Here is the past color challenge I chose for my card.  I love these colors together!

You can find the sketch from MFT Wednesday Sketch challenge HERE.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Christmas Card Challenges #5

It's the first Christmas Card Challenge of the new year and it what better way than to start it off with a color challenge.  Of course, that is optional.  All you really need to do is make a holiday or Christmas card.

Stamp Sets:  Bells & Boughs (retired), Christmas Lodge (retired); Inks:  Baked Brown Sugar, Early Espresso; Card Stock:  Baked Brown Sugar, Early Espresso, Santa's List (Teresa Collins), Very Vanilla; Accessories & Tools:  Labels Collection Framelits Dies, 2013-2015 In Color Sequins, Pearl Basic Jewels, 2-Way Glue Pen, SNAIL Adhesive, Glue Dots, Dimensionals, Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine

To join the challenge, you can find all the details, HERE, over at Christmas Card Challenge.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Beautiful Birds

Well, I don't have a new card to share with you today, but I do have some projects in the works that I'll be sharing over the next few days.  For now, here is a picture of my favorite bird.  I love cardinals and they are the one bright spot in a cold Iowa winter.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

 

Lacy Butterfly Wishes

This week I'm concentrating on getting my Design Team cards made for January's Christmas Card Challenges but I'll still be playing along in some of my favorite challenges.  My Christmas cards go live every week on Sunday so I'll have plenty of time to share other projects with you.

I'm in a Valentine's Day card frenzy getting cards ready to post to my Etsy shop.  I've been kind of neglecting it lately.  I love the new Stacked with Love Designer Series Paper Stack from Stampin' Up!®  One side has great colors for Valentine's Day and the other side is black and white with a Valentine theme.  I'll be sharing the black and white side in the days and weeks to come, too.  It's one of the new papers featured in the 2015 Occasions Catalog that comes out on January 6th.  If you'd like a copy, email me with your address (US addresses only) and I'll get one out to you.

Today's card was made using the great sketch from Retro Sketches.  I love and enjoy their sketches.  They really challenge me to step out of my box since I tend to be a bit clean and simple in my designs with few layers.  I'm beginning to realize that I like lots of layers.  :-)

Stamp Set:  Butterfly Basics; Inks:  Real Red, Pistachio Pudding, Tuxedo Black Memento; Card Stock:  Stacked with Love Designer Series Paper Stack, Strawberry Slush, Whisper White; Accessories & Tools:  Butterflies Thinlits Dies, 5/8" Whisper White Ribbon (from a Paper Pumpkin Kit), Pearls Basic Jewels, Glue Dots, Dimensionals, SNAIL Adhesive

All Stampin' Up!® product unless otherwise noted.

You can find more inspiration and challenge details HERE at Retro Sketches.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Hearts and Flowers

One of the new papers coming out on January 6th in the 2015 Occasions Catalog is the Painted Blooms Designer Series Paper.  It is absolute gorgeous!  The designs are actually from hand painted originals.  The sketch from Pals Paper Arts was perfect for showing off some of the patterns.  All the colors used on the card can be found in the paper.  To add a pattern to the strip of Blushing Bride card stock, I used Blushing Bride ink to stamp the honey comb image from the Butterfly Basics Stamp Set.

Stamp Sets:  Bloom with Hope, Butterfly Basics; Inks:  Blackberry Bliss, Blushing Bride; Card Stock:  Blushing Bride, Painted Blooms Designer Series Paper, Wild Wasabi; Accessories & Tools:  2013-2015 In Color Sequins, Glue Dots, SNAIL Adhesive

All Stampin' Up!® product unless otherwise stated.

You can find the Pals Paper Arts challenge details and more inspiration HERE.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Sunday Christmas Card Challenges #4

With Christmas behind us, I know I've taken a big sigh of relief.  I love this time of year but I am always happy to see it wind down and the excitement of a new year build.  This week's Christmas Card Challenge is an Anything Goes, one of my favorites.

For today's card I've combined the colors from Colour Me...! Card Challenge #51 and the sketch from the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #167.

Stamp Set:  Teeny Tiny Wishes; Ink: Real Red; Card Stock:  Always Artichoke, Baked Brown Sugar, Real Red, Season of Style Designer Series Paper Stack (retired), Whisper White; Accessories & Tools:  Circles Collection Framelits Dies, Christmas Bauble Die (Marianne Design), Gold Sequin Trim, Gold Baker's Twine, Glue Dots, Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine

All Stampin' Up!® Product unless otherwise noted.

For all the details of the Christmas Card Challenge, click HERE or on the image below.

The details for the Colour Me...! Card Challenge can be found HERE.

Details for the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge can be found HERE.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

The Friday Mashup 190 and ColourQ Challenge 273

Well, it's one of those nights when sleep is not coming easy so I'm up making cards.  Actually, I'm getting very sleepy and that is a good thing but it will mean this is a very short post.  My card combines the challenge from The Friday Mashup and the color challenge from ColourQ.  It shows off more of the new products from the 2015 Occasions Catalog, Butterfly Basics Stamp Set and Butterfly Thinlits Dies.

Stamp Sets:  Butterfly Basics, Gorgeous Grunge; Inks:  Calypso Coral, Old Olive; Card Stock:  Hello Honey, Poppy Parade (retired), Whisper White; Accessories & Tools:  Butterfly Thinlits Dies, Frosted Sequins, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

The details and more inspiration for The Friday Mashup Challenge can be found HERE.

ColourQ Challenge details and inspiration can be found HERE.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Mojo Monday 377

It has been a busy few days and I've not spent much time in my craft studio.  I had such a good time with my family and was so glad that all of my boys were home this year.  It warms this mother's heart! Speaking of hearts, Valentine's Day is not so far off.  Here is a card showcasing some of the new Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper Stack you'll find in the 2015 Occasions Catalog coming out on January 6th.

Stamp Sets:  Work of Art, Punch Potpourri (retired); Ink:  Real Red; Card Stock:  Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper Stack, Whisper White; Accessories & Tools:  Hearts Collection Framelits Dies, Staggered Heart Border Die-Namics (My Favorite Things), Pearl Basic Jewels, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

The sketch is the current one from Mojo Monday.  You can find it and more details HERE.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Merry Christmas from the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe

Twas the day before Christmas

As you can see, my focus has changed from Christmas to Valentine's Day and the hearts have it.  I love the new Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper Stack from Stampin' Up!®  It's one of the new products that will be available on January 6th but I thought you might like a sneak peek.  I can't wait to show you the new Occasions Catalog and the new Sale-A-Bration Catalog.  You are going to love them!

I loved the sketch over at CAS(E) this Sketch!  I stayed with Real Red and Whisper White as my main colors and added just a splash of Pistachio Pudding with the sequins and baker's twine.

Stamp Set:  Pictogram Punches; Ink:  Real Red; Card Stock:  Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper Stack, Whisper White; Accessories & Tools:  Chalk Talk Framelits Dies, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Pistachio Pudding Thick Baker's Twine, 2013-2015 In Color Sequin Assortment, Glue Dots, SNAIL Adhesive, Dimensionals

You can find more inspiration and all the details for the CAS(E) this Sketch! Challenge HERE.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Sunday Christmas Card Challenges #3

It's Sunday again and time for another Christmas Card Challenge.  This week it's an inspiration challenge with a charming little penguin as the focal point.  Be sure to share your holiday or Christmas cards with us as we love to see all the beautiful projects you create.  Here is the card inspired by that cute little penguin in our inspiration photo.

Stamp Set:  Pennant Parade (retired); Ink:  Cherry Cobbler; Card Stock:  Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White; Other:  Top Note Bigz Die, Curly Label Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" x 5/8" Oval Punch (retired), Large Oval Punch, Little Labels Punch Pack, 1" Cherry Cobbler Sheer Linen Ribbon, White Gel Pen

You can fin all the Christmas Card Challenges details HERE.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Color Throwdown 323 Along With Retro Sketches 145

It's a quick post today since I have to make an unexpected trip over to my youngest son's.  When I drove to my doctor's appointment today, the heater fan would not turn on.  It wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't been around 18 degrees Fahrenheit!  I was just a wee bit frozen by the time I got there and back.  Good thing the windows didn't fog over.  So, here is my card for today.

With so many Christmas gifts go get made, I've rather neglected my regular blog post schedule.  Today I combined a couple of challenges to make a birthday card that I know I'm going to need in a few weeks.  Funny, it's not like I don't have enough made but something peaks your interest and away you go, making something new.  Don't you just love it!

The colors for my card came from the Color Throwdown Challenge and the sketch is from Retro Sketches Challenge.  I loved the colors and the sketch just made it all come together.  They are two challenges that are a joy to follow.

Stamp Set:  Bloom with Hope; Inks:  Baked Brown Sugar, Calypso Coral; Card Stock:  Baked Brown Sugar, Crisp Cantaloupe, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla; Accessories & Tools:  Scallop Edge Border Punch, 2014-2015 In Color Sequins, Pearl Basic Jewels, Glue Dots

All Stampin' Up!® Products unless otherwise noted.

You can find the colors and the details for the Color Throwdown Challenge HERE.

The sketch and the details for the Retro Sketches Challenge can be found HERE.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Sunday Christmas Card Challenges #2

Hello and Happy Sunday, everyone!  Our challenge for this week is to make a card that is Clean And Simple (CAS).  Of course, the only real challenge is that your card be a holiday or Christmas one. Now how easy is that!  Hmmm?  I think I got a little "tilted" when I put this one together.  You know, that might be a good reason to not create in the middle of the night.  :-) 

Stamp Set:  God's Blessing (retired); Ink:  Mossy Meadow; Card Stock:  Trim the Tree Designer Series Paper Stack, Whisper White; Accessories & Tools:  3/8" Mossy Meadow Stitched Satin Ribbon, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

We'd love to have you join us for this week's CAS Design Challenge.  You could be a winner.  You can find all the details HERE.  Be sure to check out the other members of our Design Team.  You can find their links in the side bar on the right.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

CAS(E) this Sketch! 103 Colored by Fab Friday 56

Oh my, how I do love combining challenges!  I loved the sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch! and the colors from Fab Friday.  It's a clean and simple birthday card that will be perfect for one of my grandsons.  I have three of them whose birthdays are one right after the other, three days in a row in January.

When I was stamping the image from the Holiday Home stamp set in Coastal Cabana, I noticed I had pressed too hard on the ink pad and the edge of the block left a line of ink on my card when I stamped it.  Rather than start over, I simply added more ink to the block edge and added some more lines.  Now how is that for incorporating a "mistake" into your stamping?  I'm one of those stampers who believes there is no mistake in stamping, just opportunities to stretch your imagination.

Did you notice that I flipped the sketch?  No, that wasn't a mistake.  I just decided to be a wee bit different.   :-)

Stamp Sets:  Four You, Gorgeous Grunge, Holiday Home; Inks:  Cherry Cobbler, Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake, Old Olive; Card Stock:  Bermuda Bay, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White; Other:  Dimensionals

The CAS(E) this Sketch! Challenge can be found HERE

The Fab Friday Challenge can be found HERE.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

The Wacky Watercooler "Best of..." December 2014 Blog Hop

It's the Wacky Watercooler The Best of... December 2014 Blog Hop.  It's the "Best of..." a fellow blog hopper, a retired product, and a current product.  Of course, this is my take on what I think is the "Best of..."  It's been fun to see what others consider their picks for the "Best of..." and if you haven't guessed by now, I'm very attached to using the "Best of..." as many times as I can in this post.  :-)  Not really but it just seems to have gone that way.

The first card you see is one that Gail Allen designed for the first Watercooler Blog Hop of 2014.  I liked the way she used the Watercolor Wonder Washi Tape for the tree and chose this card as my "Best of..." pick from Gail.  I think it made for a beautiful Christmas tree, don't you? 

We were to CASE (Copy And Share Everything) the design we picked and what you see below is my take on Gail's card.  Instead of Washi tape, I cut strips from the Trim the Tree Designer Series Paper Stack for my Christmas tree.  Bordered the tree on the four corners using the Confetti Star Punch instead of star sequins and added a Silver Glimmer Paper star and a Red Glimmer Paper star to the top of the tree.  Just call me star crazy!

Stamp Set:  Teeny Tiny Wishes; Ink:  Cherry Cobbler Sahara Sand; Card Stock:  Crumb Cake, Garden Green, Whisper White, Trim the Tree Designer Series paper Stack, Silver Glimmer Paper, Red Glimmer Paper; Accessories & Tools:  Confetti Stars Border Punch, Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack, Dimensionals

My next project features the Secret Garden Stamp Set and the Secret Garden Framelits Dies.  I really like Secret Garden and was very sad to see it retire which is why I chose it for my "Best of..." retired product.  It was also a great way to combine some die cuts that were laying around and crying out for a home.  I rather like the color combination.  What do you think?

Stamp Sets:  Bloomin' Marvelous (retired), Secret Garden (retired); Inks:  Blackberry Bliss, Calypso Coral, Wild Wasabi; Stampin' Write Marker:  Daffodil Delight; Card Stock:  Blackberry Bliss, Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe, Garden Green, Whisper White; Accessories & Tools:  Top Note Bigz Die, Labels Collection Framelits Dies, Decorative Label Punch, Secret Garden Framelits Dies (retired), Decorative Dots Embossing Folder, Dimensionals

For my final project, I chose for my "Best of..." current product the Work of Art Stamp Set.  From the time I first saw it, I have loved the images in the set.  With so many birthdays coming up next month, I made a Tic Tac Toe game board for one of my grandsons.  He's the gamer in the family and while they are usually video games, I know he'll get a kick out of this.

Stamp Sets:  Four You, Work of Art; Inks:  Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry, Tangerine Tango; Card Stock:  Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White; Accessories & Tools:  Chalk Talk Framelits Dies, 2013-2015 In Color Sequins, Dimensionals

Next up is the ever talented Jeanne Kupsh.  Click on the image, to head on over to see what projects she has created.

If you'd like to revisit Kath Ricks, just click on the image below.  I'm sure you'll want to check out her great projects again.

And, to head back to the Wacky Watercooler Stamping Blog, click on the image below.  It's so worth looking everything over again.  You never know what you might have missed.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Pals Paper Arts 231

Here's another quick post for you today.  I'm on a roll getting projects done for some challenges.  I loved the colors from the current Pals Paper Arts challenge.  Funny thing is, I already had the Serene Silhouettes image stamped and the die cut done.  It's a watercolor wash using the challenge colors.  Now how cool is that!

Be sure to stop back this evening at 8 p.m. Central Time to take a tour of the Wacky Watercooler "Best of..." Blog Hop.  CASEing, retired and current projects are on tap for some great inspiration.

Stamp Sets:  Bloom with Hope, Serene Silhouettes; Inks:  Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Soft Sky; Card Stock:  Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Soft Sky, Whisper White; Accessories & Tools:  Feathers Framelits Dies, Labels Collection Framelits Dies, Linen Thread, Silver Gelly Roll Pen, Thank You Set #4 Embossing Folder (Sizzix)

You can find the details for the Pals Paper Arts color challenge HERE.

Thanks for stopping by the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha