Autumn Greetings

Hello!

Last year I bought a Darice embossing folder that looked like aspen trees.  This year I decided to use it. We visited Yellowstone National Park a few weeks ago, and the aspen were just starting to turn yellow.  I miss living in the mountains in the fall.

• embossing folder from Darice
• chalks from Stampin Up
• Autumn Days BigZ die from Stampin Up
• white paper
• yellow papper - Lemon Drop by the Paper Cut
• Augusta Linen Green paper by the Paper Cut
• Expression by Inky Antics

This is a true Erin Original!

Elephant PooPoo Paper

Now before you wrinkle your nose, hear me out!

I was visiting the Caldwell Zoo recently and was in the gift shop when I noticed they had some Elephant PooPoo Paper.  What?!?  Yeppa, it was exactly that, paper made from elephant poo.  Since elephants (and other herbivores) only eat grasses, etc., and they have inefficient digestive systems, their poo is very fibrous.  So this company, PooPoo Paper, cleans up the poo and makes natural fiber paper. No, it doesn't smell and it isn't germy!  Here's the link to their webpage.  In their words "...we could create products that would represent a healthy and sustainable balance between ecological responsibility AND commercial pursuit"  It is actually nice paper.  So if you receive a card from me that has natural paper on it, you know where it came from!

SCS Sketch Challenge 431

O, Fair New Mexico, 
We love, we love you so,
Our hearts with pride o'reflow,
No matter where we go.

I've been homesick lately, so I've been thinking about a chile card for several weeks, but nothing I tried seemed to work. I was visiting SplitCoastStampers, and found this sketch challenge and suddenly, the card came together in my head. Here is the link to the sketch challenge, check out all the creations!

I don't remember where I got the chile paper, I think a LSS was going out of business :( so I bought all they had. One side is the green chile and the other side is red chile. In NM you will be asked (when ordering Mexican food) if you want Red or Green? I'm a green chile person but my husband is a red chile person, so in our house we make both kinds of enchiladas.

The phrase is from Stamp A Mania, the chile is from SU's Southwest set and is embossed with Stamp A Mania's Red Chile EP.  I used the Cuttlebug Southwest embossing border on the black strip.

Classic Pickups

At the last stamping/scraping convention I found this flames embossing folder by Darice.  I'd been thinking about a card for my uncle's birthday and I was leaning towards a card using the old SU set "Classic Trucks".  The one I was thinking about has flames on it and this would make a perfect background.

Ink: Memento Tuxedo

Paper:  SU Glorious Green, GP White,  unknown yellow paper

Color: Colorbox rainbow pad, red, orange and some yellow

Stamps:  Classic Trucks:

Accessories:  Darice Flames embossing folder, SU watercolor pencils

After embossing the flames, I cut out some of them, then sponged the red/orange/yellow on it.  I colored the truck with the watercolor pencils and then lightly blended it.

Now that I've sent it (of course, it always seems to work this way) I think that using the SU tire roller to put tire tracks under the flames across the green might have been good.  Maybe I'll make another one!

Another 9 Patch Card

Another 9 patch card that I made for a co-worker.

Paper:  The card is a Michael's $1 pack, The Paper Studio's Basics and Back to the Basics pads
Ribbon:  ???
Punch: SU's curly label

Another Sympathy Card

A coworker lost her sister to cancer last week.  This card is similar to the one I posted a few weeks ago.  I really should make these in advance and always have some ready to go; if I am making it for someone in particular, I find I am often too sad to be creative.  If I make them ahead of time, maybe it won't be so depressing.

I used the All Over The Page punch of the stars and punched the Night of Navy, put it over the yellow and then put it on a Night Of Navy card.  I used a white gel pen for signing it.  The sentiment is stamped in NoN on the yellow and cut out using the Labels 11.

Paper: SU Night of Navy, generic yellow
Ink: SU Night of Navy, white gel pen
Stamp: Inky Antics
Accessories: Martha Stewart's Starry Sky punch, Popdots, Nestabilities Label 11

Travel Montage - Triple Stamping Technique

I saw a card using this technique a few weeks ago, but didn't really think much about it. A few weeks later I was at a stamping convention and saw this travel montage stamp. I wanted it, but couldn't think of what I could use it for. Then I remembered this technique and thought it would be perfect! So here are the two cards I made, one in yellow and one in green.

Paper: Summer Sun, Glorious Green, Neenah
Ink: Memento Tuxedo
Stamp: Rubbernecker's European Travel
Accessories:  Ribbon from my stash

Safari 9 Patch

I saw THIS card on Pintrest and thought it was sooooo cute.  I CASEd it, but changed to a safari theme.

Paper:  Marco's Paper "Carton" for the card
             DCWV Safari Chic pack for the map background
             The Paper Studio's Safari

Stamp:  A SU thanks from an unknown set

Ink: Memento Tuxedo

Accessories:  SU Curly Label punch, twine

I'm Nuts About Johnny

I made a card for Johnny last week (my last week before I started my new job).  The main image is a squirrel with nuts.  I received it in a SCS swap several years ago but hadn't used it until now.  I colored it with my Copics, but lost the list, other than the red heart is LipStick Red.  The card base is brown, the mat is white paper embossed with the Fiskar's tree bark texture plate.  I then used a rainbow pad of browns to give the texture some color. I used one of the Nestie Labels to cut out the image. I think if I were to do this card again, I would fussy cut around the squirrel/nuts to leave more of the "tree" showing.  To highlight the red heart, I used 3 red brads on the top/right corner of the card.

The inside has handwritten "I'm nuts about you!"

Paper:           DCWV card base, generic white
Stamps:        Whipper Snapper's Nutty Squirrel
Inks:             Dee Gruenig's Brown Blending Box ink pad, Copics, colors unknown except for the          
                     LipStick red (R29)
Accessories: Fiskar's Texture plate, Nesties Labels 15, brads

Sympathy Card

The son of a friend and former co-worker died last week. Here is the card I made.  It uses Not Quite Navy and Summer Sun and vellum. The sentiment stamp is from Inky Antics. It is embossed on the vellum using  navy EP.

Stamps:            Inky Antics
Paper:              SU's Not Quite Navy, Summer Sun, vellum
Ink:                  Versamark
Accessories:     Navy EP, SU star punch, navy star button, yellow thread

Oops...

...it appears that something untoward has happened with all of my blog pictures.  I'll work on fixing that!

Mesquite Stamping Convention

This past weekend was the Stamp Scrap Art Tour convention in Mesquite, Texas.  My friends and I have gone for the last 7 or so years.  This year, as always, I bought raffle tickets for the Big Basket of Goodies, but this year I won!!!!

Here is the Goodie Basket.  It was massive!

Inside, there was sooo much stuff!  Some inkpads, Copics Twinkling H20 and Gelly Roll pens:

Punches:

An album:

A Crop-a-dile!!!!

And bunches and bunches of stamps!!!!!

St. Valentine's Day Cards

I usually don't make Valentine's day cards, but this year I was really down and the red/pink color combo was a great pick me up!  I'm making some CAS cards (clean and simple), which is my usual style, but these are even more CASer.  All the supplies are from my stash and I don't know whose they are.

Southwest Birthday Card

Here is the second card made using the new rubber!  This time I made a birthday card for my step-dad using the sun/saguaro/bunny stamp.

Stamp:          My Heart Stamps For You
Ink:               Momento
Copics:      
Accessories: Cuttlebug embossing folder "Southwest"
Paper:           August Green Linen, and then 2 colors of yellow from my paper stash.

New Rubber

I ordered some new stamps today.  I've had my eye on one or two of them and when I stumbled across the unmounted sheet of all of them, I couldn't resist.  I got them in the mail today and made a card.  I believe that is a first!

Here are the new stamps.  They are from My Heart Stamps For You.

And here is the card I made.  It also uses new stamping stuff.  I got the Cricut Southwest Borders embossing folders for Christmas and used one of them.

The card base and mat are from The Paper Cut, Augusta Green Linen.  I used Copics YG61, YG63, YG67, R05, E31, E33 and E34.