THE UN-STRIPED STRIPED CAKE

Tuesday is my sister's birthday, so I made and decorated a cake for us to share with our stampin' friends at class tonight.  My mind's design for this cake was much prettier than the one Renee is holding (I had planned to make a striped cake with super smooth frosting).  In a rush to get it decorated today, it turned out okay.  Most importantly, it was quite tasty.  Once again, the frosting was a challenge, particularly after I "cut the round" off of the top layer which left the soft, moist crumbs exposed.  Those crumbs had quite a happy time mixing in with the frosting.  Argh!!!!  Class was fun tonight!  Have I mentioned that I have the BEST stampin' friends/customers?!?!  I can speak for Renee when I say that we enjoy them so much!!!

"FREESTYLE FRIDAYS" . . . A FALL WEDDING CARD

Last week, Julie shared a Peach Parfait wedding card that she made for a co-worker, and she challenged me to design a wedding card this week using Fall colors .  Fortunately, Stampin' Up! has this gorgeous "Spice Cake" designer paper, which was perfect for my little flowers.  To create the flowers, I punched five circles for each flower, misted them with water, crumpled and then unfolded them, shaped them in a crumpled fashion, and left them to dry.  Once dry, I stacked them, pierced a hole in the center, and inserted a brad to hold them together.  Other Stampin' Up! products used to create my gate fold card include Simply Scored scoring tool, More Mustard, Pool Party, and Very Vanilla card stock, Early Espresso and Pool Party ink, "Word Play" stamp set, circle punches, rhinestone jewel, "Vintage Wallpaper" embossing folder, and satin ribbon.  At first, I thought it would be challenging to create a Fall wedding card, trying to stay away from leaves in tones of rust and brown, but I think this card turned out okay and with just a touch of elegance.  Thank you, Julie, for yet another fun mission!

SPARKLY RETRO ORNAMENTS

Just wanted to share a fun and quick card that I made a couple of weeks ago.  Stampin' Up! products used to create this card include Dazzling Details, satin ribbon, ink (Lucky Limeade, Pacific Point, and Calypso Coral), card stock (Whisper White, Calypso Coral, and Lucky Limeade), Scallop Edge border punch, and Houndstooth embossing folder.  I used the Cricut Expression to cut the sentiment label.  I love this color combo . . . it's so cheery, in a tropical kind of way.

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

Today's MISM project is a cute little gift box, which is a perfect fit for the four ink pens inside.  My sister needed a "Secret Sister" gift for a co-worker, so I whipped up this box for her.  For the box, I started with a 4" x 8" piece of Cherry Cobbler card stock, scored at 1" on all four sides, and I used a 3" x 7" piece of Old Olive card stock, scored at 1/2" on all four sides, for the lid.  If you don't have a box maker tool to use, you'll have to tweak the scoring for the lid just a tad so that it will fit nicely over the top of the box.  I used a piece of "Letters to Santa" designer paper to decorate the lid, sponged Soft Suede ink along the edges, and the Old Olive striped grosgrain ribbon was the perfect finishing touch.  All supplies used to create and decorate this box (with the exception of the box maker tool) are from Stampin' Up!.

3D COUNTDOWN CALENDARS

My 3D Countdown Calendar

Last night, I had a 3D Countdown Calendar class with some great friends!  They each completed the decoration of the 3D calendars, which required a LOT of thought as to which designer papers to use and which little drawer to place them on.  I was amazed at how different each person's project turned out--they were all gorgeous works of art--and I wanted to share the photos with my blog visitors.  Remember . . . click on the photos if you'd like to open a larger view.

  Amber's Calendar



  Arlene's Calendar

  Joanne's Calendar

  Jane's Calendar

  Renee's Calendar

Each of these ladies took home another 3D Countdown Calendar (or two or three), so they're going to re-live the fun of decorating this project!  Thank you, ladies, for a fun evening!

"FREESTYLE FRIDAYS" . . . A PEACHY BRIDE

It's time for Freestyle Fridays, and Julie has a Fall wedding card to share with us today.  If someone told me that a shade of orange was their chosen color for a wedding, I'm not sure that I'd know where to begin to make a card for them, but Julie chose a soft, feminine theme with Peach Parfait, complete with swirls and bling.  Great job, Julie!  Be sure to visit Julie's blog today to learn more about her card, and leave a comment while you're there.  We love to hear from our visitors!

REMEMBERING ELIZABETH

Last year, I posted about my grandmother's sweet friend and quilting buddy, Elizabeth, who died from cancer.  Elizabeth loved African Violets and, after her death, her husband shared some of them with my mother and grandmother.  My mother gave one to me, and I have been so amazed that I have kept this one not only alive, but looking so healthy!  This plant is the first thing that I see when my eyes open each day, and I decided this morning that I would take a picture of it to share with my grandmother and Elizabeth's husband.  They will each be receiving a card like this one. 

MY BIRTHDAY CAKE

If you're thinking that my birthday cake looks a lot like a Halloween cake, you're right.  I made it for a Halloween family get-together/party and didn't know that it was going to be a surprise birthday party for me.  When my mother mentioned having the party and that we'd all dress in costume, I wanted to make the cake so I could get more practice.  How many birthday cakes have you made for yourself?  Ha!  This cake turned out to be quite a challenge.  I ended up baking a total of 5 layers, but two of them didn't turn out well, and I ended up using the best two of the five layers for my cake.  Now you know why I needed the practice.  I used the Cricut Cake machine to cut the decorations--the witch, crow, and letters were cut from Wilton Sugar Sheets, and the tombstones were cut from gum paste--all edible product.  As you can tell from the black specks on the cake, I originally had black tombstones but changed to the purplish-gray ones.  The cake didn't end up looking exactly as I had wanted, but it was delicious!  In case you're wondering, the small white cake with the witch on it is supposed to be a full moon.  ;-) 

SHORT & SWEET . . . HAVE A SEAT

It's time for my "Make-It-Snappy-Monday" project, and I must say that I really like this card!  I have had my eye on the "Have a Seat" stamp set since I first saw it in the current Stampin' Up! catalog, but I was never sure that I'd really have a use for it.  I finally added it to an order, and I do not regret it!  Quite honestly, I'm loving it.  It's perfect for something simple and sweet, as is evidenced by this card.  The other stamp set that I finally talked myself into buying is "Short & Sweet," which I used for the sentiment and tiny cupcake.  Other Stampin' Up! products used on this card include oval punches, 3/4" circle punch, "Finial Press" embossing folder, retired gingham ribbon, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, and Basic Black card stock, and markers to color the cupcake and create the "doodle'd" border.  If you sometimes find yourself staring blankly at your stacks of stamp sets when you need something quick and sweet, I highly recommend both of the sets that I used on this card.  Have a wonderful week!

DIGITAL DESIGNS FEATURING "FREE" DIGITAL DOWNLOADS

Last night, as I was thinking of heading to bed, I got sucked into My Digital Studio, playing with the FREE downloads from Stampin' Up!  I could hardly hold my eyes open, but I was having too much fun.  This card features a large Scallop Square punch, filled with one of the "Beau Chateau" designer paper patterns, and I used a different pattern for the Curly Label shape which features an image from the "Christmas Lodge" stamp set.  Notice the digital tape that appears to be holding the "memories" shape to the card?  That's from "Delightful Digital Tape," one of Stampin' Up!'s FREE downloads!  After the image was printed, I cut around the scallop edges, sponged them with Soft Suede ink, and then adhered the design to Soft Suede card stock, which was adhered to the Marina Mist card.  My second card features the Top Note shape filled with a pattern from the "Spice Cake" designer paper.  On top of this shape, I used a gorgeous image from "Day of Gratitude" stamp set, which I layered several times and used "drop-shadows" in Crumb Cake and Pool Party colors.  Notice the Pool Party ruffled ribbon?  It's from Stampin' Up!'s FREE "Delight in the Day" embellishment kit!  The sentiment on this card is from "Fundamental Phrases" stamp brush set, and the other digital items are the antique brad, jewelry tag punch, and More Mustard grosgrain ribbon.  Once this design was printed, I used the actual Sizzix Top Note die to cut it, sponged the edges with Soft Suede ink, adhered the die-cut layer to a piece of Very Vanilla card stock which was embossed with the Square Lattice embossing folder, and then adhered that layer to the More Mustard card.  What a quick, quick, quick card this was to make!  If I had been thinking clearly instead of working through sleepy eyes, I would have used a real antique brad instead of the digital one, but it's all good.  Are you having fun with the free downloads this weekend????