Oct 27, 2019 | Global Design Project |
#GDP212 is CASE the Designer
CAS(E), or Copy and Selectively Edit, challenges are always inspiring, and this week’s challenge is no different.
Here is the inspiration card:

I love the off-center nest stars because they create so much interest. The little addition of ribbon on the right side is just enough for this card. It all combines for a gorgeous holiday card.
Here’s my CASE:

While I chose to center this card, I can see myself creating an off-center version in my very near future, as in tomorrow. I did create a semi-nested layer of sycamore leaves to kind of mimic the nested stars.
This card reminds me of my childhood. I grew up on the south shore of Long Island, and I miss everything about fall. Central Florida does not have fall. As a matter of fact, it reached 90 degrees a couple of days this past week. At this time of year, I fondly remember my childhood me raking leaves into huge piles around the yard. The most fun of the day always involved running up to and jumping into at least one pile of those leaves. We didn’t even mind having to rake them again (or maybe we did and there’s a block in my memory). I remember the cool, brisk weather, how the pile of leaves smelled and felt, and how much harder it was to rake up the crushed leaves than it was the full size ones.
The CASEing Process
I have to admit that this card did not come together easily at all. I had stamped and cropped/emobssed the leaves earlier this week for a different card idea altogether. I’ve been looking at those pieces, moving them around, and setting them aside again all week. The only thing I knew for sure before tonight was that the base mat would be Merry Merlot. That’s it.
I’d previously stamped the large oak leaf with Merry Merlot on the same color cardstock. I used 3 different patterns from the Come to Gather DSP for the smaller leaves. Everything else was basically leftovers from other cards. If you saw the back of all the layers before I started putting everything together, you would have been looking through the card to my desk. As it turned out, I really like the color combination and will be using it again.
The large oak leaf and the checked one are adhered down with glue dots. I hoped the glue dots would give just a hint of height off the base so it wouldn’t just be flat. After dry-fitting the other three leaves, I figured out where the dimensionals needed to go. Some dimensionals needed to be doubled, but it’s not an issue since it will be hand-delivered. I knew I wanted a white piece of cardstock for the sentiment, but didn’t want stark white. Therefore, I used the splatter stamp from the Gather Together set and stamped off Pretty Peacock three times each before stamping on the banner. The ribbon is tucked up under the three smaller oak leaves and the sentiment is popped up on two layers of dimensionals.
Finishing Touches
After adding a piece of DSP to the envelope flap and stamping a Merry Merlot maple leaf on the front, bottom left corner of the envelope, I’d finished this set. I now have eleven of the sixteen Thanksgiving cards I need, and November hasn’t even started yet. All is well. Life is good.
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today. A big thanks, in advance, for taking the time to leave a comment.
Have a Peachy Day!
Sue
If you don’t already have a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, I would be honored to work with you. Please contact me or visit my shop to order the supplies for this card.

If you are ordering $150 or more, please contact me first so you earn all the Stamping Rewards for your order.
If you are ordering less than $150, please use the host code, 49KJF94R when prompted. I use the combined rewards for gifts for customers.
Supplies
Come to Gather stamp set, item # 150589
Come to Gather DSP, item # 150454
Stitched Shapes Dies, item # 145372
Gathered Leaves die set, item # 150662
Whisper White cardstock, item # 100730
Merry Merlot cardstock, item # 146979
Pretty Peacock cardstock, item # 150880
Merry Merlot ink pad, item # 147112
Pretty Peacock ink pad, item # 150083
Come to Gather Ribbon combo pack, item # 150456
Medium Whisper White envelopes, item # 107301
Stamping Dimensionals, item # 104430
Tombow Liquid Adhesive (my fav!!), item # 110755
Glue dots, item # 103683
Paper Pumpkin Specials
I am super excited about the October and November Paper Pumpkin coordinating kits! I recieved my October Paper Pumpkin card kit on Friday!! The November kit will be the coordinating gift tags. So excited! In order to recieve the November kit, you will need to sign up by November 10th. Here’s the link for you to sign up for these kits as well: https://www.paperpumpkin.com/en-us/sign-up/?demoid=2155072

Sep 15, 2019 | Global Design Project |
Give Thanks, Always
Stampin’ Up! hit it out of the park with this Come to Gather Suite, which includes traditional and non-traditional Thanksgiving colors. While the majority of the colors are darker and traditional, there are some lighter, more southern Thanksgiving colors. However, for this Global Design Project card, I used the darker, traditional colors., including Pretty Peacock, which I totally love in this suite.
Let’s get right down to it; here’s the Global Design Project #206 challenge banner:

Here’s the card I created:

Layers and More Layers
While the challenge sketch is clean, for some reason, I went with a collage approach for my card. In order to get all the layers and depth I wanted, I used dimensionals and mini-dimensionals. The Pretty Peacock stamped leaf on vellum cardstock, and one of the embossed maple leaves are flat on the background.
I used dimensionals under the horizontal banner and also for the sentiment banner. I adhered the two maple leaves in the front with Tombow liquid adhesive flat on the horizontal banner.
The double pumpkin cropped set are adhered flat on the sentiment banner. I popped up the larger pumpkin on dimensionalson the left and Tombow on the right.
The double bow I created using the Cajun Craze twine for this card is one of the first ones for which I’ve liked the outcome. I used glue dots to adhere it to the very bottom of the pumpkins.
After I dry-fit, then adhered all the pieces down, I decided I needed to add some bling. I didn’t want to add pearls or metallics, so I grabbed my clear Wink of Stella and colored all the fully colored Cajun Craze leaves on the DSP background.
I finished up this challenge card with the background DSP for the envelope flap. Then, on the bottom left front corner, I stamped a large pumpkin in full strength Cajun Craze, then a stamped off double pumpkin.
With that, another Thanksgiving card was complete.
Thank you for stopping by today.
Have a Peachy day!
Sue
You Know You Want to…….

If you would like to order the bundle, stamp set, and/or punches, and live in the U.S., please use the icon above to be connected to my store. With just a few simple supplies, you, too, can create fabulous cards. I would be honored to help you do so. For example, check out this all-inclusive kit: Notes of Kindness Card Kit, item # 148266 ($35.00). The only thing you need to add is some Tombow liquid adhesive (item # 110755, $4.00) since the ink spot is included.. One kit, 20 cards, 5 of each of 4 designs. Check it out!

HOST CODE
IF you are placing an order (you know you want to do so) over $150, please contact me so you can earn all the Host Rewards for which you are entitled. If your order is less than $150, please use YYX6FBEC for the host code.
Wednesday was a HUGE day for Stampin’ Up! Not only did the Holiday Catalog go live for customers, the Buy 3, get 1 Free DSP sale from the annual catalog starts! I already have my FOUR sets of DSP picked out! Get yours now!


To shop from the holiday catalog, available now, click on the image below:
Come to Gather bundle, item # 153036
OR
Gather Together stamp set, item # 150589
Gathered Leaves Dies, item # 150662
Come to Gather DSP, item # 150454
Come to Gather ribbon pack, item # 150456
Pretty Peacock cardstock, item # 150880
Crumb Cake cardstock, item # 120953
Cajun Craze cardstock, item # 119684
Whisper White cardstock, item # 100730
Pretty Peacock Stampin’ Pad, item # 150083
Cajun Craze Stampin’ Pad, item # 147085
Vellum cardstock, item # 101856
Clear Wink of Stella, item # 141897
Stampin’ Dimensionals, item # 104430
Mini-Stampin Dimensionals, item # 144108
Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue, item # 110755
Sep 5, 2019 | Mojo Monday - Poetic Artistry |
Mojo Monday Challenge with Poetic Artistry
I used to really enjoy playing along with the Mojo Monday challenges and have really missed it. Running a weekly challenge is a challenge in and of itself. So, imagine my surprise and happiness when Julee Tilman, of Poetic Artistry revived the challenge. Thankfully, these challenges are now bi-weekly. Since I make cards specifically for challenges, and then miss the deadlines, I really enjoy the two week timetable.
For Thanksgiving every year, I create cards for every family in attendance, and this year I need about 15, which includes friends of our family who have nowhere to go. I have been using the Come to Gather DSP, the Gather Together bundle, and the ribbon combo pack. So far, I have five cards, two of which I missed the link deadline.
Here’s the challenge banner:

Here’s the card I create
Pretty Peacock and Early Espresso, Who Knew?
This DSP has some very traditional fall colors, and also has the non-traditional colors of Pretty Peacock and Mint Macaron. Early Espresso is also in this DSP, and I can’t get over the gorgeous colorcombination of Pretty Peacock and Early Espresso. Mint Macaron plays a supporting role in this very non-traditional color combination. I have a strong feeling that my cards this season will be in these colors, at least until I run out of the coordinating DSP. If I run out, I can always get another pack.
The maple leaf is stamped onto vellum and then cropped using the coordinating dies. I didn’t stamp anything on the smaller leaf. Instead, I cropped it with the die and then used the embossing pad to run the leaf through the Big Shot. It did take a couple of times to get the depth of impressions.
To create the various layers, I just had to mat the pieces in Early Espresso and adhear them together. Easy Peasy!
Thank you for stopping by today.
Have a Peachy day!
Sue
You Know You Want to…….

If you would like to order the bundle, stamp set, and/or punches, and live in the U.S., please use the icon above to be connected to my store. With just a few simple supplies, you, too, can create fabulous cards, and I would be honored to help you do so.
HOST CODE
IF you are placing an order (you know you want to do so) over $150, please contact me so you can earn all the Host Rewards to which you are entitled. If your order is less than $150, please use YYX6FBEC for the host code.
Wednesday was a HUGE day for Stampin’ Up! Not only did the Holiday Catalog go live for customers, the Buy 3, get 1 Free DSP sale from the annual catalog starts! I already have my FOUR sets of DSP picked out! Get yours now!


To shop from the holiday catalog, available now, click on the image below:

Supply list:
Gather Together bundle, item # 153036
OR
Gather Together stamp set, item # 150589
Gathered Leaves dies, item # 150662
Come to Gather DSP, item # 150454
Everyday Label Punch, item # 144668
Pretty Peacock cardstock, item # 150880
Early Espresso cardstock, item # 119686
Whisper White cardstock, item # 100730
Early Espresso ink pad, item # 147114
Pretty Peacock ink pad, item # 150083
Tombow Liquid Adhesive, item # 110755
Dimensionals, item # 104430
Sep 4, 2019 | CAS(E) This Sketch |
Season of Thanks
Each Thanksgiving, I create at least 15 Thanksgiving cards for family and friends at our dinner. I try to create a variety so that no two cards are exactly the same. Therefore, I rely on sketch challenges for inspiration and I used CTS #377 for inspiration for the card below. I did take some creative liberty with the sketch, but I think it is still evident in the card.
Here’s the challenge banner:

Here’s the card I created:

I have come to the conclusion that the non-traditional fall colors of Pretty Peacock, Mint Macaron, and Early Espresso might just be my favorite in this Come to Gather DSP!
My Liberties
The horizontal banner, which is made from the 2019 – 2021 In Color DSP, definitely follows the sketch. I knew I wanted to use the Everyday Label Punch for the sentiment with matted layers of Pretty Peacock and Early Espresso. Early Espresso provides the cardstock for the horizontal mat and the card outline. I also used it to stamp the maple leaf and pumpkins on vellum cardstock. While I wanted the maple leaf to be see-through, I did not want the pumpkins see-through. I used my dark Mint Macaron blend to color the back of the pumpkin stamps. Then, I used the dark Crumb Cake blend on top of the Mint Macaron. The pumpkins were then matted on cropped white cardstock.
I miss the fall season. I can’t begin to tell you how long it’s been since I’ve seen a real fall in person. The maple leaf reminds me of fall on Long Island. I really can’t get over how this gorgeous, non-traditional color combination brings happy memories to the forefront.
The placement of the sentiment starts my creative liberties. There’s no sentiment on the sketch, so I made sure it almost exactly lined up with the horizontal band to stay within the spirit of the sketch.
Following the Sketch
When I started placing the vellum elements, I realized I would need a grounding element. I solved this problem by using the Come to Gather Crumb Cake ribbon. However, I still wasn’t happy with the way the maple leaf, blended into the DSP. I thought of an open square, which I created by using two of the Stitched Shapes square dies, would solve this dilemma. I used the splatter stamp from the Gather Together stamp set and Pretty Peacock ink to create a subtle pattern on the square. When I put all these elements together, I decided that I had followed the sketch while also taking liberties with it.
I struggle with collage cards, but this one pleases me and it came together relatively quickly. As always, I finished by stamping the inside of the card, pictured below:

I had to use third generation stamping to get the maple leaf light enough for the sentiment to show, which comes from the Gather Together stamp set.
I used a gingham print from the DSP for the envelope flap. Then, stamped an Early Espresso maple leaf on the front of the envelope.
With that, I had completed my card and envelope combination.
Thank you for stopping by today.
Have a Peachy day!
Sue
You Know You Want to…….

If you would like to order the bundle, stamp set, and/or punches, and live in the U.S., please use the icon above to be connected to my store. With just a few simple supplies, you, too, can create fabulous cards, and I would be honored to help you do so.
IF you are placing an order (you know you want to do so) over $150, please contact me so you can earn all the Host Rewards to which you are entitled. If your order is less than $150, please use YYX6FBEC for the host code.
Wednesday was a HUGE day for Stampin’ Up! Not only did the Holiday Catalog go live for customers, the Buy 3, get 1 Free DSP sale from the annual catalog starts! I already have my FOUR sets of DSP picked out! Get yours now!


To shop from the holiday catalog, available now, click on the image below:

Supply list:
Gather Together bundle, item # 153036
OR
Gather Together stamp set, item # 150589
Gathered Leaves dies, item # 150662
Come to Gather DSP, item # 150454
2019 – 2021 In Color DSP, item # 149617
Come to Gather Ribbon Combo Pack, item # 150456
Everyday Label Punch, item # 144668
Pretty Peacock cardstock, item # 150880
Early Espresso cardstock, item # 119686
Whisper White cardstock, item # 100730
Early Espresso ink pad, item # 147114
Pretty Peacock ink pad, item # 150083
Crumb Cake Blends combo, item # 144601
Mint Macaron blends combo, item # 147283
Tombow Liquid Adhesive, item # 110755
Dimensionals, item # 104430