Santa Chick

So, tell me, what's cuter than a little yellow chick in a Santa hat?  Even the bobble head scarecrow is smiling.  I think this will be a great card for my youngest grandson for Christmas.  He just turned seven so I can still get away with doing a bit of cutesy for him.  And, I think, this wraps up all of the Christmas cards I needed for this year.  Now I can concentrate on getting the rest of my Thanksgiving cards done.  Makes you wonder why I did the Christmas before the Thanksgiving.  Trust me, there is no rhyme or reason when I start creating.  It just happens.  :-)

Stamp Sets:  Honeycomb Happiness, Holiday (sentiment); Inks:  Basic Black Archival, Calypso Coral, Mossy Meadow (retired), So Saffron; Cardstock:  Real Red, Whisper White; Patterned Paper:  Home for Christmas (retired); Other:  Santa Hat Dies (Taylored Expressions)

My card was entered in the Global Design Project challenge.  For all the challenge details and to share your project, click the image below.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Copper Snowflakes

Well, there is nothing like waiting until the eleventh hour to get a card done for two challenges that close in a matter of hours!  It's rare that I wait so long but these days I'm not sure I can call my life my own.  I'm thinking it's the gear up for the holidays that come one right after the other at this time of year.  I love it but there is so much to do and I find there are not enough hours in the day.

For this card, I decided to use Pool Party throughout.  The cardstock, the ink and the ribbon.  Although, the ribbon actually started out Whisper White and I turned it into Pool Party ribbon using Pool Party ink and a blending tool.  It's my favorite way to make a ribbon to match my project.  My other favorite thing, at the moment is that gorgeous Copper Embossing Powder!

Stamp Sets:  Reason for the Season (sentiment), Snowflakes (Inkadinkado); Ink:  Pool Party; Cardstock:  Pool Party; Patterned Paper:  Home for Christmas (retired); Other:  Copper Embossing Powder, Whisper White 5/8" Organza Ribbon

The theme for my card is from The Paper Players.  For all the challenge details and to share your project, click the image below.

The sketch I used is from the Sunday Stamps challenge.  For all the challenge details and to share your project, click the image below.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Watercooler Wednesday Challenges #92

Welcome to the next edition of the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  Jean has a nice sketch challenge for us this week and I chose to flip it on it's side.  It was a challenge for me given I was not at home and didn't have access to all of my craft supplies.  I was away from home so my son and his wife could take their first real vacation in 17 years.  They spent their week in Jamaica and I spent my week watching their three children.  The son and daughter-in-law had a great time and I'm very glad I was able to help them do so.

Stamp Sets:  Sunshine Sayings, Wetlands; Inks:  Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Soft Suede; Cardstock:  Delightful Dijon, Peekaboo Peach, Sahara Sand, Soft Suede, Tip Top Taupe; Other:  Clear Wink of Stella Brush

For all the challenge details and to share your project, visit Watercooler Wednesday Challenges by clicking the image below.  We'd love to have you join us.  You have until Monday, November 7th at 6:00 p.m. Central Time to link your project.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Just For You

Tonight I have a very short post to share to show off a very simple card.  It's a single layer card with only stamping.  I love these colors together.  To the center of each flower I added Clear Wink of Stella for a bit of sparkle.

Stamp Sets:  Bloomin' Birthday (Taylored Expressions), Botanicals for You (retired); Inks:  Dapper Denim, Emerald Envy, Flirty Flamingo, Peekaboo Peach; Cardstock:  Whisper White; Other:  Clear Wink of Stella

The theme I used is from the Just Us Girls Challenge.  For all the challenge details and to share your project, click the image below.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Watercooler Wednesday Challenges #91

It's the fourth Wednesday of the month and that means it's time for a Masculine challenge at Watercooler Wednesday Challenges.  I'm hosting this weeks' challenge and it's an "anything goes."  It's whatever strikes your fancy and the only thing you have to remember is that it must be a masculine project.  What I found interesting about my card, all three stamp sets start with the letter "T."  It was not planned.

Stamp Sets:  Teeny Tiny Wishes, Timeless Textures, Traveler;  Inks:  Crumb Cake, Pacific Point; Cardstock:  Pacific Point, Whisper White; Other:  Copper Metallic Thread, Crystal Effects

For all the challenge details and to share your project, visit Watercooler Wednesday Challenges by clicking the image below.  We'd love to have you join us.  You have until Monday, October 31st at 6:00 p.m. Central Time to link your project.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Wacky Watercooler October Blog Hop

Welcome to the October edition of the Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop!  Each month, on the third Thursday of the month, a group of us get together to hop and share projects we've made using product from Stampin' Up!'s current catalogs.  It's always a lot of fun.  This month we are celebrating Autumn with a focus on fall colors and occasions.

You should be coming to my blog from Gail Allen.  Her projects were fantastic, don't you think?  After your visit with me, head on over to check out what projects Debbie Spano has shared with us.  And, as always, our Hop runs in a circle.  Whether you start at the top and go forward or start at the bottom and go backward, you will always wind up where you started.

One of the things I have come to love and appreciate is single layer stamping.  It's clean, it's simple and it doesn't bulk up that envelope when you are ready to send it through the mail.  For this one, I stamped the leafy branch from Crazy about You in Pumpkin Pie and added the sentiment from Paisleys & Posies stamped in Soft Suede.  And that, as they say is that!

Stamp Sets:  Crazy About You, Paisleys & Posies; Inks:  Pumpkin Pie, Soft Suede; Cardstock:  Whisper White

My next project adds a couple of layers and some simple embellishments.  The "pumpkins" are stamped in Tangerine Tango using one of the images from the Work of Art stamp set.  The stems, also an image from the Work of Art stamp set, are stamped in Emerald Envy.  On the center pumpkin, I added a small twine bow and to the upper left corner I used Regals Candy Dots in Rich Razzleberry.  That is the only part of this project that is retired.  I really do miss those candy dots.  The sentiment is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set and it's stamped in Soft Suede.

Stamp Sets:  Teeny Tiny Wishes, Work of Art; Inks:  Emerald Envy, Soft Suede, Tangerine Tango; Cardstock:  Emerald Envy, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White; Other:  Twine, Rich Razzleberry Regals Candy Dots (retired)

My final project showcases some of the fall colors we see here in Iowa in the Autumn.  The base color is Delightful Dijon.  To that I added a strip of the Serene Scenery Designer Series Paper.  On the popped up layer, Rich Razzleberry, Delightful Dijon and Whisper White.  I used the trees from the In the Meadow stamp set and stamped it in Soft Suede.  The leaf colors were done using a bundle of q-tips as a stamp.  The sentiment I used is from the retired stamp set Happy Scenes.  I love this color combination, don't you?

Stamp Sets:  Happy Scenes - sentiment (retired), In the Meadow, Timeless Textures; Inks:  Cherry Cobbler, Crushed Curry, Pear Pizzazz, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry, Smoky Slate, Soft Suede; Cardstock:  Delightful Dijon, Rich Razzleberry, Serene Scenery Designer Series Paper Stack, Whisper White; Other:  Pearl Basic Jewels

Now that you have seen all of my projects, it's time to move on and check out what Debbie Spano has in store for you.  Simply click on the image below to be directed to her blog.

If you'd like to go back and look over the projects from Gail Allen again, click on the image below.

To go back to the Wacky Watercooler Stamping Blog, click the image below.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Watercolor Celebrate

When I saw the challenge at Stampin' Royalty, I knew I had to share one of my recent watercolor projects with you.  This is one of the cards I made in a recent watercolor class at Stamp Joy 2016.  Jen Shults (click on her name to check out her blog) was the instructor and I learned much in the class.  Watercoloring is something I definitely plan to do more of in the future.

The theme of celebrate came from the Stampin' Royalty challenge.  For all the challenge details and to share your project, click the image below.

Be sure to stop back later this evening around 8 p.m. Central Time to take a tour of the Wacky Watercooler October Blog Hop.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Watercooler Wednesday Challenges #90

It's Simply Stamping week at Watercooler Wednesday Challenges.  Libby has given us the the theme of "black on white" for our inspiration.  I chose to to do exactly what this challenge is all about, simply stamping.  A couple of stamps, some ink and it is done!

Stamp Sets:  Paisleys & Posies, Rose Wonder (sentiment); Ink:  Archival Basic Black; Cardstock:  Whisper White

For all the challenge details and to share your project, visit Watercooler Wednesday Challenges by clicking the image below.  We'd love to have you join us.  You have until Monday, October 24th at 6:00 p.m. Central Time to link your project.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Thank You

The other day I happened upon a brand new challenge.  It's called The Flower Challenge and I know I'm going to love it given I do so love flowers.  The nice thing is that one of the cards I made in one of the classes I attended at Stamp Joy 2016 was perfect for the challenge.  It's a shaker and the pretty flowers were stamped and die-cut to place on top of the vellum window.  I like the way the vellum looks and it gives it a much softer look rather than using a window sheet.

I entered this card in The Flower Challenge.  It's a new challenge.  For all the challenge details and to share your project, click the image below.

"Anything Goes" With Florals

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Stamp Joy 2016

Oh what fun it is...well, was since the evening has come to an end and I a home from a fun night at Taylored Expressions Stamp Joy 2016 Kickoff Party!  Taylored Expressions is a local rubber stamp company based in Ankeny, Iowa and just a few miles from my home.  We all had a wonderful time and made four very nice cards, two of each design.

The pretty flowered patterned paper is one we created with the Bloomin' Birthday Stamp & Die Set that was one of the free things we received as an attendee of the event.  We used our own stamp set to make the design.  It was fun to use colors together that I would normally not put together.

Now it's time for me to shut things down and get settled for the night.  There is an all day event tomorrow and it's going to be one long, busy day that starts at 6:00 a.m.  A Watercolor Expressions Class in the morning and a Shake It Up Class in the afternoon.  I'll be sharing those projects in the days to come.

Bloomin' Birthday Stamp & Die Set

Design #1

Design #2

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Watercooler Wednesday Challenges #89

Welcome to this week's edition of the Watercooler Wednesday Challenges.  It's a color challenge and Penny chose some beautiful colors for us.  For the butterfly, I used Silver Embossing Powder on Soft Sky.  It's really pretty and adds a bit of a shimmer to the butterfly.  Then, I cut it out using the Butterflies Thinlits Dies, of which I've neglected lately.  It that what happens when you have too much craft stuff, you forget what you have?

Stamp Set:  Butterfly Basics; Inks:  Tip Top Taupe; Cardstock:  Soft Sky, Tip Top Taupe, Whisper White; Other:  Butterflies Thinlits Dies, Silver Embossing Powder

For all the challenge details and to share your project, visit Watercooler Wednesday Challenges by clicking the image below.  We'd love to have you join us.  You have until Monday, October 17th at 6:00 p.m. Central Time to link your project.

The sketch I used is from CAS(E) this Sketch.  For all the challenge details and to share your project, click the image below.

I also entered my card in the Seize the Birthday challenge.  For all the challenge details and to share your project, click the image below.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Watercolor Autumn

Such a busy week it's been.  A visit from my daughter-in-law and two grandsons from Reno and gearing up for Taylored Expressions Stamp Joy annual event this coming weekend.  It's a local rubber stamp company so you can bet I'm thrilled to be able to participate.

In the meantime, I've managed to spend a wee bit of time in my craft studio.  Today's card was made for a brand new monthly challenge called CAS Watercolour Card Challenge.  Autumn is the theme for October.  With the weather turning cooler and a hint of frost in air, there aren't too many flowers still out there blooming so I created a mid-Autumn flower to brighten up my day.

Stamp Set:  A Season of Giving - sentiment (Hero Arts); Inks:  Archival Basic Black, Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry, Marina Mist, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Sky; Cardstock:  Cajun Craze, Keep In Touch Watercolor Panels (Taylored Expressions), Whisper White; Other:  Copper Metallic Thread

The "Autumn" theme is from a new challenge, CAS Watercolour Card Challenge.  For all the challenge details and to share your project, click the image below.

And, the code word at Addicted to CAS is "watercolor" so I've entered my card there as well.  For all the challenge details and to share your project, click the image below.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Watercooler Wednesday Challenges #88

This week at Watercooler Wednesday Challenges, Heidi has designed a sketch challenge for us.  It's a great sketch, don't you think?  It also gave me a chance to use one of the doily die-cuts I inherited from a friend who was giving away her craft stuff.  It worked perfectly for my card.  One of the things I discovered when I was going through color choices is that I love the Elegant Eggplant and Sweet Sugarplum colors together.  They do such a good job of complementing each other.

Stamp Sets:  Paisleys & Posies (sentiment inside card), Papillon Potpourri, Rose Wonder (sentiment), Timeless Textures; Inks:  Archival Basic Black, Crushed Curry, Elegant Eggplant, Soft Suede, Sweet Sugarplum; Cardstock:  Elegant Eggplant, Sweet Sugarplum, Vellum; Other:  Copper Metallic Thread, Elegant Butterfly Punch, Holographic Embossing Powder (Ranger)

For all the challenge details and to share your project, visit Watercooler Wednesday Challenges by clicking the image below.  We'd love to have you join us.  You have until Monday, September 19th at 1:00 p.m. Central Time to link your project.

I also played along with the "anything goes" challenge at Stampin' Royalty.  For all their challenge details and to share your project, click the image below.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Light Behind the Trees

When I saw the theme of leaves and/or trees for The Male Room Challenge this week, I knew right away the card I wanted to make for it.  The stamp is called Rendezvous and it's by Penny Black.  They have some great images and I totally fell for this one.  I love trees and the birds were a nice added touch.  Heather Telford, who is a Penny Black Designer, offered a project guide of a design she did with this stamp.  While I didn't use the same product she did as I didn't have them, I think it turned out well.  I know I'll be using this again and again.

Stamp Sets:  Rendezvous (Penny Black), Sprinkles of Life (sentiment); Inks:  Archival Basic Black, Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red; Cardstock:  Basic Black, Shimmery White, Whisper White

The inspiration for my card came from The Male Room Challenge.  For all the challenge details and to share your project, click the image below.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

In My Thoughts

It's a busy day for me today but I wanted to make the time to show you the card I made for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  And, as you may know, it is World Card Making Day so I couldn't let the day go by without sharing a card with you.  To use my oldest son's favorite saying, "It's what I do."  :-)

Stamp Sets:  Best Thoughts (retired), Fabulous Flora; Inks:  Dapper Denim, Distress Embossing Ink (Tim Holtz), Night of Navy, Peekaboo Peach; Cardstock:  Peekaboo Peach, Whisper White; Other:  Night of Navy Baker's Twine, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, White Embossing Powder

The sketch I used is from the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge.  For all the challenge details and to share your project, click the image below.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Watercooler Wednesday Challenges #87

It's Masculine challenge week here at Watercooler Wednesday Challenges.  Kath is hosting and it's an "anything goes" kind of card.  I love making "anything goes" projects.  No specific direction; you are free to let your mind take you where it will when creating.  For my card, I chose to use a retired stamp set, The Open Sea.  It is one of my favorites and it works well for a masculine card.  Since I have my three sons' birthdays coming up over the next few months, it was a perfect time to design a card for one of them.

Stamp Sets:  Sprinkles of Life (sentiment), The Open Sea (retired); Inks:  Crumb Cake, Island Indigo; Cardstock:  Crumb Cake, Island Indigo, Pool Party, Whisper White; Other:  Linen Thread, Seaside Embossing Folder

For all the challenge details and to share your project, visit Watercooler Wednesday Challenges by clicking the image below.  We'd love to have you join us.  You have until Monday, October 3rd at 6:00 p.m. Central Time to link your project.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Elegant Butterfly

While going through some patterned papers a friend gave me, I came across this wonder book of vellum with coordinating paper.  The vellum has it's own design as does the patterned paper.  When I saw the sketch from The Paper Players, I decided to use two of the designs.  It doesn't show well in the photo but the lavender die-cut butterfly has script on it while the vellum die-cut butterfly has polka dots.  It's really pretty in real life.

Stamp Sets:  Papillon Potpourri (antennae), Rose Wonder (sentiment); Inks:  Elegant Eggplant; Cardstock:  Elegant Eggplant, Vellum Paper Sets (Fiskars); Other: Bold Butterfly Framelits Dies, Butterflies Thinlits Dies, Pearl Basic Jewels

The sketch I used is from the The Paper Players Challenge.  For all the challenge details and to share your project, click the image below.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Bushel of Blessings

Autumn is my favorite time of the year and I found two challenges that were an inspiration for the card I made for today.  I've been using up card bases left over from different events I had in days past.  It's a good way to deplete my supply of colors that have retired.  And, I absolutely love that Bushel of Blessings stamp set and Bushel of Blessings Dies from Taylored Expressions!  I've been looking for a long time for a great pumpkin set and I think I've finally found it.  I'm happy now!  :-)

Stamp Set:  Bushel of Blessings (Taylored Expressions); Inks:  Rich Razzleberry, Tuxedo Black Memento, Variety of Copic Markers; Cardstock:  Peach Parfait, Rich Razzleberry, Shimmery White, Twelve Days of Christmas Patterned Paper (Graphic 45); Other:  Bushel of Blessing Dies (Taylored Expressions), Chicken Wire Embossing Folder (Taylored Expressions), Gold Sequins, Pearl Basic Jewels

The sketch I used is from the Share Joy Challenge.  For all the challenge details and to share your project, click the image below.

I also entered my card in the Just Us Girls Challenge.  For all the challenge details and to share your project, click the image below.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

Christmas Greetings

Monochromatic isn't necessarily that easy to do so I hope I've come close with my bit of vintage Christmas card.  I love the new Father Christmas stamp set and have been making Christmas cards for family and friends.  I've used shades of brown for my card.  Santa and the center sentiment were stamped with Early Espresso, even though it looks almost black, and the borders with Baked Brown Sugar.  I so wish that color would come out of retirement.

Stamp Set:  Father Christmas; Inks:  Baked Brown Sugar, Early Espresso, Vintage Photo (Tim Holtz); Cardstock:  Baked Brown Sugar, Trim the Tree Designer Series Paper Stack (retired), Very Vanilla; Other:  Linen Thread, Pearl Basic Jewels

The inspiration for my card came from the Stampin' Royalty Challenge.  For all the challenge details and to share your project, click the image below.

Monochromatic

 

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha