Christmas with Sparkle

Christmas is coming, and that means my Christmas Stamp a Stack is right around the corner. My theme for Christmas this year -- SPARKLE! I am in love with some of the new (and the old) SU options to make things glimmer, and sparkle is simply my favorite accessory! While preparing for this class, I had a long stretch of being in pretty unreasonable pain, and sitting for a long spell of designing just wasn't working out, so I relied on the design talents of other amazing cardmakers for my designs. Usually designing is my favorite part of this process, but it is so wonderful to know that when it is not an option, there are so many great resources out there for help -- Splitcoaststampers.com is my favorite place to go to be inspired! Thankfully, I started on new medication this week, and am feeling MUCH MUCH better, so I'm hoping that the streak continues and I'll be back to my old stamping self again soon!!

Anyway, here are the designs I have so far for my Christmas Stamp a Stack...I have a box of goodies arriving today, so that I can work out one more card before class next weekend.

This first card uses the Medallion stamp to create a wreath image in Old Olive. I used Frost White shimmer paint, mixed with rubbing alcohol in a mini mister to create the shimmer, and our new Dazzling Details glitter to add sparkle to the berries.


This card (design courtesty of JanTink) uses the Snow Burst embossing folder, the Scallop Square Die, The Northern Flurry snowflakes, and the Ovals Die (mask) for the Bigshot. I sponged the oval in Marina Mist, stamped the image in Night of Navy and added touches of Frost White Shimmer paint directly to the image with a makeup applicator. Of course Rhinestones finish of the sparkle!

This one sparkles! I love using non-traditional colors for Christmas cards - and this one is certainly non-traditional, with Blushing Bride, Early Espresso and Soft Suede. I embossed the tree image from Christmas Lodge in Irridesent Ice embossing powder, and added halfback pearls for just a little extra shimmer!

And finally, my favorite! I love this fabulous snow friend from the set "Snow Much Fun" ...isn't he the cutest! I added Mica flakes to the bottom for a snowy sparkle, and Dazzling Diamond glitter to the snowflakes and the snowman himself...and a ton of Rhinestones for his sparkly buttons!

Well that's it, off to bake some brownies with my daughter, and wait for my package to arrive so I can get one more card ready for class :)

Have an awesome day!

BOO!

I finished making treat boxes today for Lauren's class for Halloween. We haven't done any Halloween crafts the last couple of years, as my kids have been off track during the month of October, but this year Lauren starts back to school on October 31st, so obviously - must have treats! She and I searched quite a bit to find the fun project we liked best, and this is what she picked - I found the template for these on a great blog www.chicnscratchlive.com . The blog is filled with tons of fun tutorials for projects like these! Lauren helped with punching, emossing spider web heads, etc. so it was a real team effort and I think they turned out pretty cute! Now to get busy with Christmas Cards!! I still can't sit for very long, so projects are going slow, but I have a few ideas in the works for my Christmas Card class, should have pictures ready next weekend so hopefully I will find time to share them!

For those of you that read my last post about my health and are waiting for the update here, I am happy to say that everything is fine! I do not in fact have cancer! Doctors tell me that my bone marrow is "unusual" and "unique to me" in that I do indeed have a decreased bone marrow signal, but funtionally this is not causing any effect on my blood/ plasma production etc. So it is not cancer, and it is not harmful! I am still on medical leave however, related to my Fibromyalgia and ongoing back and body pain. It has been a long couple of months, and although my muscle spasms have decreased with not sitting for extended periods, I still am struggling with quite a bit of pain. I think the best I can hope for at this point is learning to tolerate the pain to the best of my ability, and working through it finding strength where I can, as it seems this is just all part of who I am and what my life will include. I am hoping to return to work on November 1st - keep your fingers crossed for me that all works out and I can remain strong and positive through the challenges that life brings!

Upcoming Class Selections

Hey there everyone! Yep, six months...that seems about right. I haven't given up entirely on the idea of a blog...it just does not seem to fit in the reality of my life at this time! But I may as well pop in every so often and share what I can and keep you updated on my life!

Life lately has been weird at best, medical challenges that have kept me from being my best. I am currently (momentarily) on medical leave due to back pain and muscle spasms that make work more challenging than it should be, hoping to have resolution to this particular problem SOON! Also had a scare around here recently, as my MRI showed that there is a possibility that I have Multiple Myeloma. I have to tell you, this has been altogether terrifying and life changing - even to have someone tell you that you MAY have cancer is some pretty scary stuff. Right now, everything seems okay. I saw the oncologist last week, and his feeling is that "most of the time" MRI's that look like mine do not turn out to be cancer, and that I have no reason to worry... so I am going about life doing my best not to worry. But with this new and added concern to my life, needless to say, things have been crazy and stressful. If you are already in the know and praying for me - you have no idea how much I appreciate the prayers and support I have received in the last couple of weeks. And if this is news to you -- I am really OK! But I appreciate any prayers and positive energy that you may wish to send my way! This has been an excellent reason for me to rethink many things in my life, and to prioritize in new ways. I have spent time in the last two weeks talking to people I have not talked to in years, and re-establishing friendships and relationships that mean alot to me and I had let get away from me. I have had more people than I can even count tell me that they love me and are praying for me, so even if there is nothing wrong with me at all, my life is so much better today than it was last week, and if anything is wrong - I have a whole lot of people standing by to support me and my family if we need them! I have had a bunch of tests and find out more for sure at the end of the month, and while I trust and am confident that everything will be just fine, once that bug is in your ear, it is hard to get rid of it and go back to life as it was!

Since I have a Stamp a Stack coming up in August, I have been trying to use some of my free time while on medical leave to design cards for my class. I came up with 8 designs to use, and my class participants will choose their favorite 5 to complete in class. My creative juices have been a little stifled, maybe due to stress - I relied a lot on Splitcoaststampers for inspiration and ideas when designing! At any rate, here is what I came up with -- Participants in my Stamp a Stack will be selecting cards based on the card number assigned:

#1 - Simply Soft
First is a card using two new Hostess sets, Simply Soft and Perfect words. I used Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz and So Saffron on this card, and layered markers and white gel pen for coloring, with a little sponging around the edges. Class participants can choose from a variety of sentiments in the Perfect Words set for front sentiment.

#2 Zoo Review
This card is in response to customers request for more masculine/ gender neutral cards - I personally would be happy with all flowers and butterflies, but whatever - I guess we should send cards to guys sometimes too. This uses the new Zoo Review set, and the Family Reunion set. I think customers will love that they can personalize cards to whomever they would like using this set! and I love the animals in Zoo Review. Used the Big Shot for Houndstooth Background and Sizzlit buttons. Blender Pens and Watercolor crayons are used for coloring.

#3 Thanks Pocket Card
This is a pocket thank you card using the Hello, Doily stamp. It is heat embossed (twice) in Whisper White on Basic Gray and then Real red cardstock and scallop punched. I had a lot of fun making this one, however some of my customers have mixed opinions about heat embossing!

#4 Kindness Matters
I wish I could get a better photo of this! This card uses the GORGEOUS new set Kindness Matters - $8.95 are you kidding me! I will SO get my money's worth from this one! A little "First Edition" DSP, lace ribbon and watercolor - sigh. I love it, hope my customers do as well.


#5 Field Flowers Thoughts
This card uses the beautiful new set Field Flowers and First Edition DST. I can't even say how much I love this set. I think it might be my new favorite. And this color (calypso coral)- LOVE it!! YUM! I paired it here with Cherry Cobbler and Soft Suede. This set involves 2-step stamping. I will be offering customers an alternate "birthday" outside greeting for versatility in class for this card.

#6 Fabulous Florets
Another new favorite set for sure - Fabulous Florets - I have had SO much fun with this set! I used it here in fun tropical colors (Melon Mambo, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight and Old Olive) and paired it with the new set Pursuit of Happiness for the wonderful sentiment. Class participants can choose from pursuit of Happiness or Delightful Dozen as sentiment options for outside of card to personalize this one.

#7 Delicate Doilies Birthday
Here's a fun one - This uses the new fabulous set Delicate Doilies - I can see MANY fun cards with this one! and the Happiest Birthday Wishes hostess set, as well as the new Lace Ribbon border punch. I used the gorgeous new In Colors - Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Island Indigo and paired them with Riding Hood Red.

#8 Sail Away
Finally I used the Summer Mini set Sail Away for another Masculine set. I FINALLY got the Teeny Tiny Wishes set to use for greeting choices for this card - I LOVE the versatility of this set, and I know it will be a standout favorite at my stamp a stacks!

Okay - that's it for cards for today -- off to clean up my messes and make some lunch. Hope everyone has an amazing day!!

Class participants, please be sure to email your selections to me at kpaisley1@gmail.com by Friday evening! Thanks! :)

New cards to share...

Finally! Sorry for the lapse, I just have not had much to share. My mojo was in hiding for a while, and I just never had anything I was excited enough to blog about. In fact, it really seems like lately the only time I take time to be creative is when I have a class planned. I have been working on some cards for a Stamp a Stack coming up on March 13th, so I HAD to get something made, might as well share it!!

I think that the Occasions mini catalog was just what my mojo needed --I loved nearly everything in it! And yes, that means I bought nearly everything in it, and plan to get the rest as soon as possible! AND since it is Sale-a-Bration, I got a few new things for free as well. With all the new stamps, tools and papers I am surrounded by right now, I found a few things to get my creative juices flowing. As a matter of fact, I ended up with 11 cards I like, and now the hard part is to choose which 5 to use for my Stamp a Stack. Feel free to let me know your opinion if you have one! Of course, since have made 12 cards so far, maybe I will just plan a second class in April, and do them all :)

Anyway, here are the cards that I thought were cute enough to share.

I just love the new Create a Cupcake stamp set and coordinating punch. I combined these with the adorable Ice cream parlor designer paper available through SAB, and some fun Melon Mambo pom pom trim. I love the fun colors of this card.


This next card uses the beautiful new "Bliss" Sale a Bration set. The color combo here is Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride, Pink Pirrouette and Very Vanilla - I love these colors together! I was inspired by the challenge site Colour Q -- I love following along with these challenges, and often find new favorite color combos as a result!


Unfortunately, I have found a real need for Sympathy and Get Well cards lately, so I have designed a few that will work well for these needs. Great thing in designing these for classes, if if participants don't need sympathy cards, a thank you or thinking of you would work just as well. I think this is my favorite new set - called Nature Walk from the occasions mini catalog. I hope to find more time to play with this set and really share it's beauty and versatility. I love every stamp in this set! I used Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso and Naturals Ivory - I love this combo.

I actually purchased 2 new "sympathy" sets, this one (Thanks for Caring) from the occasions mini, and Thoughts and Prayers. I have needed a good sympathy set for quite a while, and with these two, I know I will be able to make all the sympathy and get well cards I need for a while. I love this one, which uses my new Framed Tulips embossing folder as well as my new eyelet border punch to accent this set. I also used the Springtime Vintage Designer Paper, which I just LOVE!


Keeping with the same color combo and stamp set, I designed a second sympathy/get well choice.

This is a simple design, but I love this poppy stamp from the Sale a Bration set Punch Bunch, and this color combo (Rich Razzleberry and Wild Wasabi) is a favorite of mine.


Using the same "Punch Bunch" set, the Owl Punch, and the Ice Cream Parlor SAB paper, I created this cute thank you card. I love this little owl, he makes me smile.

I always find a need for more masculine cards, and think this one (using Thoughts and Prayers) works well for masculine, and would work with nearly any sentiment. I know it is pretty simple, but I really like it a lot.

Here is another birthday card, using the new Bring on the Cake set. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this set. I can't believe how many good stamps are in one birthday set! I used the Ice Cream Parlor paper, ribbon and button on this card - Can you tell I really like this paper - I love each and every piece, and need to make sure I earn more SAB goodies so I can get a couple more packs!

Using the same design as the Sympathy card above, I created this card using Baby Blooms and the Springtime Vintage paper. I think this card would be lovely for Mothers Day, Birthday, Easter...anything really.


And Finally, I created this birthday card using the Aviary set - finally got around to buying it! I love this set, and can see me using it a ton. I also love this color combo - Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzaz, Tempting Turquoise and Black.

Okay, that's it for now. I really do hope to check in again soon, since I hope to get back to creating just a little more regularly. Now I am off to decide which cards to use for my class...