A Vintage Merry Christmas

Welcome to the Studio!

I've been working on Christmas cards lately so I can actually send some out this year.  I got so busy making cards for others last year I totally missed the holidays:)  I'm on the ball this year.  I purchased the Authentique Wonder line a while back, and although I've been wanting to use it, it's so lovely that I've been a bit intimidated by it.  That happens to me quite a bit.  I buy paper that I think is so beautiful and then I'm afraid to use it.  Occasionally I have to remind myself of the plaque hanging on my friend Stephanie's scraproom wall..."Life is short, use the pretty paper."

So I finally got my nerve up and made this card for The Sweet Stop DT Call:

My card was based on Sweet Stop Sketch #177, shown here:

 

This is a really fun sketch and translates beautifully to any style.  I also decorated the inside where my verse is.



 

Here is my recipe for this card:
Card size is 5x7.

Close To My Heart:  Ivory Cardstock
Authentique:  Pattern Paper, Wonder Collection
Spare Parts & Creative Charms:  layered vintage brad
American Crafts:  Zing gold embossing powder
Stampin Up:  Handpenned Holidays, seam binding in Cherry Cobbler
Martha Stewart:  Border Punch
Our Daily Bread Designs:  His Gift stamp set, featured inside

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Until next time, Scrap Sassy!

 

All Is Vanity...And Really Creepy!

Welcome to the Studio!

I've been MIA again and I apologize for that.  Things got a little worrisome with Hurricane Issac rearing his ugly head.  My dad, who lives near the Mississippi Gulf Coast, couldn't decide if he wanted to evacuate or not.  Lucky for him (and us) Issac only dumped a ton of rain on his area.  You'd think after Katrina he'd have learned his lesson...swimming out a second story loft window and riding out that hurricane on a party barge with a tarp thrown over his head.  It took us over a week to find him that time!

Well, now for some crafting fun.  I just love Halloween.  {Any holiday that involves begging for candy can't be all bad.}  I've always been intrigued with the painting by Charles Allan Gilbert, All is Vanity.  It's fascinating in an eerie sort of way.  As I sat at my scrap desk yesterday, I thought it might make a cool "embellishment" on a Halloween card.

My card is based on the Mojo Monday Sketch 257, as seen here...

I found the awesome black and orange ribbon at Micheal's.  It's totally Halloween-y and makes me think of spiders.  It also tied great with my peg bow maker.  I used a Spellbinders die as a mat for my picture.  I also incorporated some black webbing that I ordered from Really Reasonable Ribbon.  The pumpkin is Jolee's Boutique.  The "Happy Halloween" is from Justrite Stamps, as well as the banner die.  The punched border is from Martha Stewart and was one of the recent T.J. Max $3.99 finds.  I'm not sure if the picture shows this, but I used Black Magic Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels on the fancy diecut circle.  And the paper is Echo Park's Apothecary Emporium.

Here is a close-up shot of the creepy image.  You can actually see that it's a woman sitting at a vanity looking at her reflection...or is it?

Other Challenges I'm entering:
Make it Monday - Anything Goes...not a challenge, just an awesome place to inspire and be inspired!
Alota Rubber Stamps - Challenge 90, Halloween
Ladybug Crafts - Anything Goes, First Challenge!
Challenges 4 Everybody - Challenge #2, Anything Goes

Check out these challenge blogs for more inspiration!  And until next time, Scrap Sassy!

Birthday Wishes & Butterflies

Welcome to the Studio!
If you've gotten here from the CADB, thank you so much for stopping by.

Whew, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted. Life gets REALLY nuts every now and then. I’m sure each of you can understand that. My dad had back surgery in April and stayed with us (me, my hubby, and my mom…did I mention my parents are divorced?) for about a month and a half. It was really kinda surreal. I felt like I woke one day and was eight years old again living at home with my parents. It’s strange how easily you can fall back into old routines and family dynamics.  Well, enough about my crazy life.

Here’s a card I did recently because, well, I wanted to use the paper and the cardboard butterfly. Don’t ask me why my brain said all that went together, but it works for me.   And as you can see from my April 30th post, I'm stuck on the cardboard butterflies.  I only have a few left, so maybe I'll move on to cardboard birds next;)  I based this card on a sketch by Valerie Salmon at Got Sketch.  I love her sketches. 

 I think the denim paper mixed with the vintage floral gives it a country kind of feel. I can almost smell a fresh apple pie in the oven.

I used a store-bought card base and envelope, 6.5x5. The paper is from Hobby Lobby. It’s from the 8.5x11 section. It just screamed at me and I had to buy it.  The butterfly is from Maya Road. I used a new CTMH stamp set called Just a Number.  The ink I used is Stampin Up Baja Breeze and also Baja Breeze cardstock.  The ruffled ribbon is from Stampin Up too. I used some white pearls in different sizes to embellish the upper border and the butterfly.  And I used a wisp of silver wire for the butterfly antennae.  I used three Spellbinders dies, the ivory doily and the denim frame. I also used a Fiskars border punch (top) and a Martha Stewart border punch (bottom).

Speaking of border punches, I must admit that since Mom and I share a scrap space we have A LOT of punches of all kinds, but especially border punches. Every time we go to one of our favorite craft stores and there is a sale or a coupon, it seems like we each walk out with two or three more punches. Luckily, so far, we haven’t bought the same one twice. (Keeping our fingers crossed on that one!) Well, since Dad was up here recuperating and can’t sit still, we gave him some projects to tinker with out in the garage. He made some peg bow makers in two sizes, a few ATG gun holders, and a wicked, awesome, totally fantastic punch rack for us, as designed by Mom. It’s simple and utilitarian, but WOW, we can find all our punches!  We are loving it!

In this picture you get a glimpse of what we call the "Inspiration Corner."  I found a really comfy, vintage chair at a garage sale some years ago for $5.  For my birthday a few years ago, hubby and mom had it redone, so it's now a posh lime green.  And it's still comfy and now has a black and white ottoman too.  You can't see the zebra stripe and black feather lamp next the chair for reading all those catalogs, idea books, & magazines.

Be sure to visit my mom's blog, Joanie's Classy Card Corner.  She's on the Link Up For Pink Design Team and there's lots of fun stuff going on over there!

I hope you enjoyed your visit. Until next time, Scrap Sassy!

Hello, Baby!

Welcome to the Studio!

If you’re visiting from the Card A Day Blog, thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you come back again soon. If you haven’t been to the Card A Day Blog, please stop by over there. We have a
whole host of designers who are happy to share their ideas and techniques with you.

The theme for the week is babies and the celebration of their birth. They are sweet, innocent,
adorable, little poop machines and we can’t help but coo and make silly noises whenever one is nearby. I feel the same way about the four-legged furbaby variety as well.

For this card, I simply cut an 8.5x11 piece of CTMH ivory cardstock in half lengthwise, which give me an A2 size card. I used a Martha Stewart border punch on the sides of the pink paper and attached it to the card base. Since I didn’t have anywhere to hide my “ribbon bits,” I just trimmed the brown grosgrain off even with the edges of the card base. To stop the ribbon from unraveling
or coming loose, I put Scor-Tape on the edge of the card base to adhere the ribbon.

Next, I just kind of “eyeballed” it and cut two rectangles out of ivory and pink pattern paper and green patterned paper. I matted those with Chocolate cardstock from Close To My Heart. I tucked those two pieces in underneath my brown grosgrain ribbon.

For the sentiment, I used the SU Teeny, Tiny Wishes set. It’s an expensive set, but it’s worth every penny. I find myself going to this one over and over again. It’s quite handy to have, especially when you’re making cards in a hurry sometimes. I stamped “hello, baby” in dark brown chalk ink onto a scrap of the pink background paper. I then used the decorative label punch and punched only a portion of it out so I could make the little tab. I then tucked that in behind my brown grosgrain ribbon.

I tied a double bow with my handy-dandy peg bow maker and
attached it with glue dots.

For the inside...

I basically cleaned my desk off. I took all the little pieces I had left and used them to decorate the inside. I used the same border punch on the inside of the card, just punching the top and
bottom of the green pattern paper instead of the left and right sides. I stamped the verse on a leftover piece of pink with dark brown chalk ink.

I hope you enjoyed your visit. Until next time, Scrap Sassy!

PS
Happy Birthday, Julia!
Your goodie box will be there by the end of the week!

Wearing of the Green...and a bonus card!

Welcome to the Studio! Glad you stopped by. I've been sick for the last few weeks, so I'm glad to finally be getting back to normal and feeling like crafting too. If you're visiting from the Card A Day Blog, you know that it's a St. Patty's Day celebration over there. And without further adieu, here's my Irish lass...

This card is really simple. I didn't even measure anything, just eyeballed it. I downloaded the vintage picture from The Graphics Fairy. (BTW, it was FREE!) I used a Martha Stewart border punch on cream colored cardstock for the border and used a small piece of pale green satin ribbon for my shamrock to sit on. I used the Stampin Up label punches for my sentiment. The Happy St. Patrick's Day stamp is from JustRite Stamps.

Now for that shamrock...
I wanted something different. I had tons of shamrocks from foam and felt to brads and bling, but none really looked quite right. So what's an obsessed scrapper to do? Make your own!

For this technique, I mixed a few tablespoons of UTEE (Ultra Thick Embosing Enamel) with CTMH Garden Green re-inker. I did this in a plastic bowl and using a popcicle stick to stir. The re-inker tends to bead up and you just have to mush up the little balls of color, kinda like getting the lumps out of a bowl of brownie mix.

After it was mixed up good, I added some green shimmer Pearl Ex to it. I used the end of the popcicle stick to scoop a little out of the container. After mixing that in, I dumped the mixture into a melting pot. There are several brands and they are quite inexpensive if you use a coupon at one of the chain craft stores. {It's also handy for melting hot glue for dipping.}

I turned the melting pot on to the UTEE setting and let the mixture melt, stirring occasionally to make sure the color was uniform. After it was melted, I poured the mixture into a candy mold...yep, you read that correctly. I had an old chocolate candy mold of a shamrock stuck up in the top of a closet. If it can handle the heat of candy, it can handle UTEE. After the UTEE mixture was poured into the mold, I just let it sit undisturbed until it cooled. It popped right out of the mold. How easy is that! And there are tons of really awesome candy molds these days with lots of pretty flowers and flourishes. The possibilities are endless!

I had so much fun messing with the UTEE, I plan on digging out a few more of my old candy molds to play with. I have several set of monogram alaphas that would look really cool. There's also a few other UTEE techniques I'm getting my nerve up to play with!

And here's a bonus...

I couldn't let Valentine's Day pass without putting up a Valentine's card, so here is a simple, French-inspired bit of Ooh La La!

I hope you enjoyed your visit. Until next time, Scrap Sassy!

Cupid Incoming!!!

Welcome to the Studio!
If you’re visiting from the Card A Day Blog, thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you come back again soon. If you haven’t been to the Card A Day Blog, please stop by over there. We have a whole host of designers who are happy to share their ideas and techniques with you.

The theme for the week is, of course, Valentine’s Day. And I was still in a vintage, shabby chic sort of mood…



I just used an ivory card blank from one of the craft stores. The patterned paper is from My Minds Eye Lost & Found collection. This is from the 6x6 paper pack. The designs are scaled down and perfect for cards (and less expensive). I used Stampin Up Cherry Cobbler seam binding. I just LOVE seam binding and I’ve got a new tool (peg bow maker) to help me tie pretty bows. My cherub is a stamp from LaBlanche Stamps. They are a newer stamp company and their stamps are mounted on foam blocks, which makes them extremely lightweight. Also, instead of the usual red rubber or acrylic, the stamp itself is made of a white silicone material. The images are very detailed and exquisite. I stamped my image on SU crumb cake cardstock with CTMH black ink. I used a distressing tool to ruff up the edges and inked them with CTMH chocolate ink. I then gave it a quick coating of Sassy Shimmer Spritz (my studio-made glimmer spray) and then I squished it into a little ball to get all the creases and stuff. I used a Martha border punch for a little extra on the black mat. I made a stickpin and added a piece of black feather for fun. The “Amour” tag at the bottom is a strategically punched piece of patterned paper with an SU punch and stamped with the sentiment, also from SU.

My Supply List:
Cardstock: card base, store bought
Patterned paper: MME, Lost & Found
Stamps: LaBlanche, Stampin Up
Ink: Chocolate, Black from CTMH
Punches: Stampin Up and Martha Stewart
Ribbon: Cherry Cobbler seam binding, Stampin Up
Stickpin: Made in the studio
Adhesive: ATG Gun, in pink {Blitsy.com has some great deals!}

Thanks for stopping by. Until next time, Scrap Sassy!

An "Ornamental" Christmas Past

Welcome to the Studio!
If you’re visiting from the Card A Day Blog, thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you come back again soon. If you haven’t been to the Card A Day Blog, please stop by over there. There is a bunch of talented ladies doing some awesome creating. I’m so excited to be a part of it.

For this week, the theme is Christmas and Ornaments. I’m back on my vintage kick again, but I wanted to do something easy that could be recreated quickly for those of us who have LOTS of Christmas cards to make and mail out every year.

The card base is 8.5 x 3.75 (8.5 x 7.5 and scored at 3.75) The next layer is Cherry Cobbler cardstock, cut about a quarter of an inch smaller with the bottom edge border punched. It give a little pop of color next to the ivory cardbase. {Hint: Trim the width of the strip first, leaving it longer than 8.5. Border punch the bottom, then measure and trim excess from the top.}
The green pattern paper layer is cut about a quarter inch smaller than the red. I used a cut file from Silhouette for the ornament and cut it out of gold cardstock with an ivory shadow for a little extra pop there too. I glued the green patterned paper to the Cherry Cobbler. I then attached a short piece of Cherry Cobbler seam binding to the back of the Cherry Cobbler cardstock before attaching it to the ivory base. Using the seam binding, I looped it so it would look like a double bow and used a brad to cinch it together. For the sentiment, I used scraps and Spellbinders dies. I stamped “Merry Christmas” first and then cut it out so that I could have the sentiment centered as I wanted it. For attaching the ornament, I found it quicker and easier to run both pieces through my Xyron Sticker Maker (2.5”). I layered the gold on the ivory shadow first and then attached it to the card front and popped the bow on top with a glue dot. The sentiment is on a bit of foam tape as well.

Another tip...use what you have on hand. I have a bunch of Christmas-themed chipboard cutouts that would work great as well. You can also make an ornament, wreath, etc. a bit more elegant with pearls or a lot more eye-catching with bling. I hope you enjoyed your visit!

My Supply List:
Cardstock: Colonial White, CTMH; Cherry Cobbler, Stampin Up; DCWV Gold Pearl.
Patterned paper: Green tone on tone, Anna Griffin.
Stamps: A Merry Christmas, Stampin Up.
Ink: Chocolate, CTMH.
Dies: Spellbinders, scalloped ovals and ovals.
Ribbon: Cherry Cobbler seam binding, Stampin Up.
Bling: Pearl Brad, Paper Studio, Hobby Lobby.
Adhesive: Glue Glider Pro High Tack, Glue Arts; Xyron Sticker Maker; foam tape.
Tools: Border Punch, Martha Stewart.


Thanks for stopping by. Until next time, Scrap Sassy!

Winter Wonderland

Welcome to the Studio!

If you’re visiting from the Card A Day Blog, thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you come back again soon. If you haven’t been to the Card A Day Blog, please stop by over there. There is a bunch of talented ladies doing some awesome creating. I’m so excited to be a part of it.

For this week, the theme is Christmas and Snow. When I think of snow, the words to White Christmas come to mind and I get that old-time movie scene in my head of frosted windowpanes, roaring fires, and snowflakes gently drifting by outside. It’s definitely all in my imagination. I grew up in Louisiana, near New Orleans. I remember swimming in the backyard on Christmas Day, and New Year’s for that matter, for more years than I care to count. I also remember standing out on Veterans Highway in Metairie, Louisiana in the pre-dawn darkness freezing my buns off, teeth chattering, dressed in some silly costume (ballerina, Indian, Wonder Woman, etc.) with all-weather coat and gloves too, waiting for the Mardi Gras parade to start in late March. Needless to say, the weather down there is unpredictable at best, but I digress. Let’s get to the good stuff…stamped snowflakes!



I used a past sketch from Mojo Monday for the layout of this card. I used a transparency with Staz-On to stamp the individual snowflake “petals.” The stamps are from Heartfelt Creations as well as the die. The hardest part of this technique was waiting for the ink to dry. After it does, however, the fun begins. Using the Heartfelt/Spellbinder die, you just line up the die over the stamped image. Yes, it sounds hard, but remember that your paper is clear, so it’s super-easy. I ran it through my Bigshot and got ready to play with glitter and bling. I used 3-D Crystal Lacquer (with a fine tip) on the unstamped side of the flakes to “draw” where I wanted the glitter to go. Some sections I filled in with glitter and other sections I just traced some of the swirls. I used MS aquamarine glitter for the bottom layer of flakes and MS white gold glitter for the upper flakes. I attached the flakes together with a foam dot, thus giving it the upper and lower levels. To hide the dimensional, I added a huge chunk of “ice” on top. A Stampin Up “Season’s Greetings” and a silver organza bow finish it off. It was fun to make and looks even better in person…and a lot more sparkly!

My Supply List:
Cardstock: chocolate, CTMH; white, CTMH; Bazzill Bling, Bazzill.
Patterned paper: Brown Polka Dot, K & Co. Christmas Paper Pad
Stamps: Season’s Greetings, Stampin Up; Snowflake Medallions, Heartfelt Creations.
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Stampin Up; Timber Brown, Staz-On.
Dies: Snowflake/Medallions, Spellbinders/Heartfelt Creations; scalloped circles, Spellbinders.
Ribbon: Silver Organza, Offray.
Bling: Jolee’s Boutique
Adhesive: Glue Glider Pro High Tack, Glue Arts; 3-D Crystal Lacquer; foam dots.
Tools: Border Punch, Stampin Up.
Glitter: Aquamarine and white gold, Martha Stewart.

Thanks for stopping by. Until next time, Scrap Sassy!

Easter Cards For My Peeps!

Welcome to the Studio. It's time for me to get those Easter cards and projects wrapped up. I'm quite the procrastinator, but as long as I have a deadline, I'm good. (That's what I keep telling myself, anyway.) I just love the Stampin' Up 5th Avenue Florals set. I find it to be very versatile, and the lily is perfect for some more elegant Easter cards. I was getting tired of the same old pastels too, so I used a tone on tone floral yellow paper from the DCWV Mediterrean stack and CTMH Sorbet and White cardstock. I also used two Martha Stewart border punches I recently purchased. I just love the double loops (shown on right). That's my new favorite. I also used some coral organza to give the cards a bit of softness.

I started with just a 5x5 square card and added the white and sorbet circles on top. I wanted a 5x7 card but was looking for a little bit of a sassy twist. Why make a plain, old rectangle card all the time; right?

For my sentiment, I used a clearance stamp that I found at Hobby Lobby a few months ago. To keep it soft, I stamped it in Versamark and used CTMH Cranberry Embossing Powder. For the flowers, I just stamped them in black on CTMH White cardstock and cut them out. Using a marker, CTMH Sunflower, I colored the yellow stamens and used a Sorbet marker on the very tips. I used chalks (remember those?) and mixed a coral and pink together and tinted the flower centers. The middle flower is attached with foam tape to give it a little dimension.

On to the next one...

I saw a sketch that I really liked from Verve Stamps, their Viva La Verve March Week 2 sketch. You can find some really fantastic sketches and inspiration on the Verve blog. http://www.vervestamps.blogspot.com/ The patterned paper was from an American Crafts pack I found at TJ Maxx for $5.99. Yes, TJ Maxx has scrap supplies now. The other supplies were CTMH cardstock in Garden Green and White, white grosgrain ribbon, olive green pearls, a doily, a calla lily spray from the bridal department at Hobby Lobby. They are made of resin of some type. I visit the bridal area of my favorite craft stores for flowers, pearls, tulle, etc. that are sometimes cheaper than in the scrapbooking department. Keep an open mind when you're shopping. Scrapbooking supplies, especially embellishments, are everywhere. My husband hates to go to Lowe's and Home Depot with me;)

For the sentiment, I used my clearance Easter stamp with CTMH Sorbet ink and matted it on Sorbet cardstock. The tag is from Silhouette, artisan shapes. I just squished it a little to fit my stamp.

Cards For Little Peeps...

I enjoy making mini cards and they are great for younger (and smaller) hands. These are 3x3. I used some cardstock scraps and some Easter paper from a friend's purge pile. The stamp was a $1 bargain bin stamp from Michaels. I stamped the chick on white cardstock and then stamped it again on yellow. I cut the yellow chick out (except for the tail and head feathers) to give it a bit of dimension. I used markers to color the feathers and added a pink bow to the little girl chick's hair. The inside is another $1 stamp and I just used coordinating ink to stamp and edge the cardstock.

I hope you found some inspiration and enjoyed your time here. Hope to see you again soon. Until next time, Scrap Sassy!

Christmas Card Idea #9...An Ornamental Idea

Welcome Everyone!

I hope you've all had a scraptacular Christmas. I know some of you got digital cutting machines from Santa this year. Congratulations on starting the next level of your scrapping addiction!

Although I've had a Cricut Expression for a few years now, Santa (aka Mom) felt I needed one that matched our Sassy Scrapper Studio, so I'm the proud owner of a LIME GREEN Cricut Expression. I absolutely LOVE it and the newly released version of Make the Cut. And not to sound snotty or anything, but now I don't have to share a machine. Mom has one of her own now:) It can be quite tricky coordinating Cricut time when both people are cutting fools like we are!

Now on to our Ornamental Idea...


As much enjoyment as I get from using all the scrap tech that's available to us, it's always nice to go back to the tried and true techniques, like stamping. For these cards, I used both the CTMH Adornments stamp set as well as a Stampin Up ornament set. And no, I don't believe using the two together is some type of scrap-blasphemy:) It's impossible for one company to make everything, so you have to mix it up to get the look that makes YOU happy. Because after all, that's what matters; right?

I began with a card base in red. I used a piece of ivory cardstock as a matte, cutting it the same length as my card base. I then used a Martha Stewart border punch on the edge. I cut a piece of patterned paper and adhered it to the top. The finishing touch for that portion of the card is a piece of CTMH ribbon in a soft gold color. It's only available in the Mistletoe Creative Basics set.

Now, here's the coolest part of all. Do you need at least 30 or more Christmas cards every year? Between my husband's co-workers, church friends, scrapping friends, and family, I need a bunch. But why strain the budget? I purchased the patterned paper I used for this project at Hobby Lobby on clearance. It's made by Paper Studio, and for the insane price of 17 cents per 12x12 sheet, you can get lots of cards done cheaply. Now is the time to start combing the clearance racks both online and at your favorite stores. Some really cool Christmas papers will be on clearance soon after the holidays!

Enough about my bargain hunting skills. Let's get on to the stamping. I used a piece of ivory cardstock scrap. I cut it to the size I needed and stamped my three ornaments in red to mimic the patterned paper being sure to go off the edges with some of the images in order to get the effect I wanted. I then used black ink to add my strings and green ink to add my "So Blessed" sentiment. I then matted it with dark green cardstock and adhered it to my card. Quick, simple, and inexpensive...the makings of an awesome Christmas card.

Here is another sample of the same card. I changed it up a little because sometimes it gets a little tedious to repeat the same card over and over.


I hope you found both enjoyment and inspiration. Have a Sassy Scrappy Day!

The Annual Newsletter - With a Twist!

I've spoken to both authors and receivers of the "Dreaded Newsletter." And I call it that, not to offend, but because those who write them see it as a chore and those who receive them tend to file them away with the rest of the bills and mail because they're just a 8.5x11 sheet of paper.

So after seeing both sides of this issue, I decided to come up with an idea to satisfy everyone...

If it looks like a card, it will be displayed with all cards received that year; and if it has photos and cute captions, it'll be enjoyed for years to come. My idea? A tri-fold card with both a Christmas message and a "year in review" photo montage.

I began with photos and Photoshop Elements to make the insert. If you're a digi scrapper, it's a breeze. For me however, although somewhat PSE savvy, it took a few hours. After that was done, it was off to the print shop for color copies. At 39 cents a copy, it was more economical than printing on my photo printer.

Next, create the trifold card base. I used Close to my Heart cardstock (New England Ivy) for my base and a Martha Stewart scoring board that I just can't live without. Then came the fun! Using the Mistletoe paper from CTMH, I designed the front and the sentiment on the inside, and voila! A super simple, totally sassy twist on the annual newsletter.

If you'd like detailed instructions on this project, please email me or include your email address in your comment.

Thanks for stopping by and have a Sassy Day!