SO GRATEFUL

Here's a sneak peek from the upcoming Stampin' Up! Mini Holiday Catalog that comes out on September 1st. Boy, are you going to love this mini catalog. Lots of great stuff in this one. This image is from the "Wandering Words" stamp set. There are three stamps in this set containing this fall stamp, a Christmas scene stamp and a Valentine theme stamp. I must admit I have a little trouble knowing what to do with these long stamps, but I'm going to try my best and figure them out.

I used my Big Shot machine with the texturz plate for the background. I just spritzed my cardstock with water and ran it through my machine to get a deeper impression. To make it stand out a little, I sponged over the embossing with More Mustard and Close to Cocoa Stampin' Up classic ink pads.

Can you believe autumn is just around the corner? Personally, it is my favorite time of year. Hope to post another sneak peek from the new mini catalog soon.

Thanks for checking in with me today.

Supplies: Stamps - SU's Wandering Words; Cardstock - Ruby Red, Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla, Elegant Eggplant, Autumn Traditions DSP; Ink - More Mustard, Close to Cocoa, Always Artichoke, SU Markers - Soft Suede, More Mustard, Always Artichoke, Elegant Eggplant, Ruby Red; Accessories - Sponges, Linen Thread, Paper Piercer, Playground Designer Series Buttons, Fire Circle Rhinestone Brads, Big Shot Machine, SU's Background 1 Texturz Plate, Dimensionals, Punches - 1/2" Circle, 3/4" Circle, Scallop Edge, Tag Corner

BACK FROM VACATION

Sorry I've been quiet. I've been busy the last few weeks trying to eek out every ounce of summer before it's over. Last week my family and I headed down to Ft. Myers Beach, Florida. We made it back late Saturday evening. Vacations are wonderful, but it's always nice to come back. It makes you appreciate home a little more. Below are some pictures my husband took on our trip. By the way, we did see a few sharks and numerous stingrays. (One shark was about eight feet away from me. Yes, I was in the water with it! Yikes!)

Picture of my sister-in-law, Ellen, my son, Connor, and me going shelling on Bowman's Beach at Sanibel, Florida.

Not sure why some of these guys are on one foot!

Sunset at Ft. Myers Beach - absolutely beautiful!

Picture of my husband, Dave, and me on our last night at Ft. Myers Beach. It was about 95 degrees and we were sweat balls. LOL!

I received a package of new Stampin' Up! goodies from the upcoming Mini Catalog while I was gone. Hope to play with my new stamp sets soon and get some cards posted!

Thanks for stopping by and visiting me today!

HERE FOR YOU

Have you tried the poppin' pastels technique? It's been around for a while, but I've never tried it. It's a really cool technique. Just stamp your image using Versamark ink and then rub colored chalk over the image. I used the baroque image from the Friends 24-7 stamp set along with Old Olive and Rose Red chalk on this card to replicate the technique. Okay, maybe I'm easily amazed but I like this technique. (I already said that didn't I?) I also ran my Rose Red cardstock through the Big Shot machine using the polka-dot texturz plate and then sponged Very Vanilla craft ink over it to make the dots pop out a little. This was the first time I tried out the eyelet border punch too and I'm loving it! To be honest, I wasn't crazy about this punch at first, but now I don't see this thing collecting much dust.


Supplies: Stamps - Friends 24-7; Ink - Versamark, Soft Suede; Paper - Natural Ivory, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Rose Red, Rose Red Designer Series Paper; Accessories - Very Vanilla Hodge Podge Hardware, Chalks, Sponges, Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Linen Thread, Big Shot Machine, Texturz Plate, Designer Label Punch, Eyelet Border Punch

You're A Blast

Just playing around with another Mojo Monday sketch. I find sketches to be just the right springboard to get the creative juices flowing.

I used all retired Stampin' Up! Designer Series paper on this card. The rocket is taken from the stamp set "Pun Fun" and I separated the saying, "You're a blast!" from the rocket by using a Post-it note mask. The rocket was double stamped in Jet Black Staz-on ink once onto the Night of Navy cardstock and once onto watercolor paper to keep the black ink from bleeding into the water coloring. I used my blender pen and Stampin' Up! classic ink pads to color in the rocket. I tend to squeeze out too much water when using the aqua painters. The moon was created using a circle punch and then moving the punch down a bit and punching a partial "bite" out of the original circle.

Hope everyone is having a good week. The weekend's just around the corner! :)

Supplies: Stamps - Pun Fun; Ink - Jet Black Staz-On, Real Red, Not Quite Navy, Pumpkin Pie, Bermuda Bay; Paper - Water Color Paper, Whisper White, Not Quite Navy, Crushed Curry, Real Red, retired DSP; Accessories - Scissors Circle Plus, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Small Star Punch, 1" Circle Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, Word Window Punch, Blender Pen

Deal of the Week 5

Don't miss out on the final "Deal of the Week". This week's deal is the Heart to Heart Punch. Purchase it now through Friday, July 31st for $10.99, (originally $15.99). To shop on line click here. If you have any questions or would like to place an order directly through me, email me at l_burkitt@yahoo.com.

P.S. My uncle passed away unexpectedly last week and this week my family is attending his funeral services. That's why I've been a little quiet. I hope to post something soon, but I haven't been creating lately. My heart just isn't into it right now.