HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Tricker Treat Day to all you witches, ghosts and goblins! Here in Pennsylvania we have just finished our indian summer and the leaves are changing and there is a chill in the air. 

As we begin to focus our minds totally on holiday cards I wanted to leave you all with 2 last spooky cards featuring the "old fence" E1392 to get you in the creepy, spooky Halloween mood. 

 

 

Have a fabulous Halloween everyone!

 

 

Autumn's Beauty

This Brilliant Maple is a sure sign of Autumn's beauty, isn't it?! 

I just love this time of year in New England so I was automatically drawn to this new image - appropriately titled - Brilliant Maple (F1402) from the new release, Winter Wonder. 

I used a Corn notecard with four rectangles cut from patterns in the Blackbird 6x6 paper pack as the base.  I used another pattern from that pack to create a matte for the stamped image.  The paper packs make creating any project so easy because everything coordinates perfectly. 

The stamp was inked first with Brilliance Chocolate Brown from the trunk toward the middle, then Brilliance Rust was added to the next layers of leaves, and finally the very outer leaves were inked with Brilliance Poppy Red. It's usually easiest to do this multicolored inking using the Brilliance Tear Drops, but you can use the large ink pads if you are careful. 

I stamped the inked image onto a piece of glossy cardstock I had marbelized with Ranger alcohol inks (Butterscotch, Terra Cotta and Metallic Gold).  I took the new greeting, Happy Fall (B1420) and inked the first part with a Marvy Marker so I could stamp it to the left of the tree, then I carefully cleaned the stamp so I could ink up the rest of the greeting and stamp it to the right.  This stamp also has a grouping of three maple leaves on the side as a bonus.  I inked those with markers and stamped them along the bottom. This layer was matted onto a piece of Espresso shimmer cardstock.

Hopefully, you can find the Winter Wonder release at a store near you. Keep an eye out for the Brilliant Maple and all the other beautiful new images you'll want for your fall and winter stamping projects.

Ice, Ice Baby

 

 Happy Friday!  Here we are at the end of another week and I wanted to share this card idea with you, hoping you can take time this weekend to work on your holiday cards.  Before you know it, we'll be knee deep in gift wrap and social gatherings---sometimes it gets pretty hectic.  Take a deep breath and repeat after me...Peace, Peace....and more Peace.

 The blues in this card are calming and serene...I applied Chipped Sapphire, Broken China and Stormy Sky distress inks over the Snowy Branches (E1419) stamp image to create a chilly and moody evening scene.

 In the background you see Crystal Snowflake (E1410) inked in Stormy Sky ink and jazzed up with sparkling diamond jewel stickers.  My favorite element is the shiny foiled "Peace" sentiment using Calm and Bright Design Adhesives and silver foil strips.

 Here's a another view to show the elevation of the main image and the wonderful shiny "Peace"

  Join in the fun when we make this card and others on December 16th at Stamp Delights in La Mesa, Ca. (619) 465-6873.  

  Have a great weekend!  Peace.

 

 

Frosty Wreath

 

When I first saw the beautiful Winterberry Branch(D1414) an image popped into my mind of the beautiful grapevine wreaths you can buy around the holidays with the frosty branches. I tried to recreate those wreaths with this card.

Stamp the wreath using Versafine Vintage Sepia.  Trace some of the branches using a fine tipped glue pen. Dust the branches with Twinklettes Diamond Dust. Accent a few of the berries using the Memory Box Jewels Cherry Red.

Stamp the bird on the Heaven Sings B1385 using Adirondack Red Pepper Dye ink on white cardstock. Cut out the bird using detail scissors. Stamp the sentiment onto white cardstock using the same brown ink.

The papers are new papers called Sicily Vanilla Bean and Cranberry. Distress the edges using an Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber Snow Cap along with distressing the edges with a nail file.

Have a lovely day!

Suzz

Winners!

I know that people are anxiously awaiting the names of the blog blitz winners.  I was hoping to contact everyone before posting the list, but I haven't heard back from a couple of people.  I sent emails to the following people, so please check your email and send me your contact info.  If you won one of the Flickr prizes, I sent a Flickr mail message to you, so please check that account.  So, without further ado, here are our winners:

Winner of a $50 prize pack for joining the Memory Box Flickr group- Sharon D

Winner of a $50 prize pack for posting a card to the Memory Box Flickr group- Tracy Evans

Winner #1 of a $50 prize pack for leaving a comment during the blog blitz- Sav O'G

Winner #2 of a $50 prize paack for leaving a comment during the blog blitz- Lynda aka alrlsmom

Winner of a $50 prize pack for liking Memory Box on Facebook- Dee King.

Don't forget, a $100 prize pack will be awarded once we hit 1,000 members on Facebook!

Thanks again to everyone who joined us for the blog blitz last week and participated in the contests.  We appreciate all of your support!

 

More Books!

 

Memory Box papers are so truly beautiful that I LOVE to use them on my books.  Unlike cards, which can have a shorter "shelf life" (no pun intended), books are something to cherish and pull out again and again.  Both of these books are different forms of accordion folds.  For the larger, hard-cover book on the left, I used the Evening Roost paper from the Blackbird collection.  I then punched out a scalloped square of First Snowfall and applied the bird in flight double-sided rub-on from the Fright Night collection of Design Adhesives.  Once the rub-on was adhered to the paper, I removed the backing and then applied a layer of gold leaf, making this book truly special.  For the smaller book on the right, I created the covers from scraps of Holly Jolly paper - never let anything go to waste!  These are the books I teach in my Bookbinding Basics class, coming up on Tuesday, November 9 at Angela's Happy Stamper.  I'd love to have you join me if you are in the Northern Virginia area!

Happy Halloween Printers Tray

Since the first Printers Tray class at Your Maine Stamper, these have become all the rage!  We can't keep them in stock!  I usually use the 7 Gypsies Printers Tray with the twelve ATC-sized spaces, but for this project I went outside my comfort zone and worked with the tray that has twenty spaces in a bunch of different sizes.  The crunch was on to get this done ASAP because it is my Halloween card/home decor item for my son in California, so it has to get in the mail today!!!

I measured, cut, and taped in place all twenty of the background papers using bits and pieces from the Blackbird 6X6 and 12X12 papers left from other Halloween projects.  Then the fun began!

Top Row:  

In the first box I added a Halloween-themed bottle cap and some black puffy dot stickers.  

The second box has three black buttons attached with glue dots.  

For the larger third box, I cut another piece of blackbird paper to match what was already in the tray, covered it with VersaMark and clear embossed the paper, matching up the images and adding a piece of black and white dotted ribbon to the left edge of the embossed piece.  

For the fourth box I stamped SHADY WINDOW D1274 on a scrap piece in Jet Black Archival Ink, clear embossed it and cut it out, then stamped it again on a piece of striped paper cutting out just the window shade which I added to the embossed image.  The final touch was some Glossy Accents on the pumpkin.

Middle Row:

In the small first square, I used a black foam shaker frame filled with black glass beads and fall leaf confetti.  Under that is the TENDRIL COLLAGE D1269 which I stamped in Jet Black Archival Ink and clear embossed before mounting it to the background paper.  

The next panel features CHAIR C1137, stamped in Jet Black again and clear embossed, with a chair seat from the same striped paper I used for the window shade, mounted on black cardstock.  The sentiment YOU'RE MY CUP OF TEA is an older Memory Box stamp.

The larger central panel features BIRD IN FLIGHT D1393, stamped, clear embossed, and sprayed with a shimmer mist, mounted on black cardstock.

For the next panel I stamped and embossed four smaller CROW B1389 images, popping up one of the crows mounted on a scrap of black cardstock over the center one underneath.

In the next rectangular space, I stamped HAPPY HALLOWEEN B1391 directly on the background paper as well as ORB SPIDER B1131, colored the body in with a black pen and added some Glossy Accents.

I stamped and clear embossed CHANDELIER (spiders mounted on the side) D1135 to look as if it were hanging in a tree.

For the final box in that row I had this great moon charm that I mounted with an extra large pop dot.

Bottom Row:

For the first rectangular space I inked up just the word "spooky" from SPOOKY COLLAGE G1387, embossed it, and edged the paper with more black ink before placing it on the background paper.

Under that I used the VINTAGE SCROLL E1388, stamped in Jet Black and clear embossed, with a tiny button accent.

Another bottle cap and a bow made with white dotted black ribbon finish the two smaller boxes.

The central image in the next box is STAIRCASE D1136, stamped, embossed, cut out and mounted on black cardstock with Glossy Accents on the pumpkin.

Three orange buttons in one and another bottle cap and some orange puffy dot stickers accent the next two rectangles.

The final box features two of the SKETCH PUMPKIN B945 images stamped and embossed on scrap paper and edged with black ink. 

 

It's not too late to make your Halloween cards or home decor items using Memory Box stamps and Blackbird papers.  Time to get inky!!!

Happy stamping!

 

Love the Brilliant Maple!

  

Fall is my favorite time of the year!  I had fun playing with these stamps - there's so much you can do with this tree!!  On my first card I used multiple colors of embossing powder to get an embossed maple tree that had leaves with changing colors.  For my second card, I used Flower Soft Autumn to get a textured changing leaves look.  I also used the Soiree Metallic papers because they give such a rich look for no effort at all.  Gotta love a card that looks rich without a lot of effort!

Embossed Brilliant Maple Recipe:

Stamps:  Brilliant Maple (F1402) and Happy Fall (B1420)

Inks and Powders: Brown pigment ink, and copper, yellow, red, clear & orange embossing powders

Papers:  Chocolate for the base, 24 Karat for the main layer, stamp Maple and happy fall images on Frost, layer happy fall on copper

Embellishments:  Halloween Jewels (orange) and brown velvet ribbon

1. Stamp the images using brown pigment ink on Frost cardstock.  

2. Emboss Happy Fall (B1420) with copper embossing powder and layer on Copper cardstock.  

3. Emboss the Brilliant Maple (F1402) using multiple fall colored powders.  First use clear powder on the tree base.  The sprinkle different colored powders over the leaves.  Shake off excess powders onto a paper plate. Emboss.

4.  Stamp leaves from the side of Happy Fall stamp around base of tree.  Emboss with excess powder from the paper plate.

5.  Layer the tree image onto the 24 Karat layer and wrap velvet ribbon around bottom of layer.

6.  Attach layered Happy Fall image over ribbon with foam tape.

7.  Attach 24 karat layer to front of card.  Add orange gems.

8.  Stamp leaves from the side of Happy Fall stamp to another Frost layer for inside of card.  Emboss with copper powder.

Here's another way to use these great stamps...

Dimensional Brilliant Maple Recipe:

Stamps:  Brilliant Maple (F1402) and Happy Fall (B1420)

Inks and powders: Brown pigment ink and copper embossing powder

Papers:  Copper for the base, Chocolate for the main layer, stamp Maple and happy fall images on Frost, layer happy fall on copper

Embellishments:  Halloween Jewels (orange) 

1. Stamp the images using brown pigment ink on Frost cardstock.  

2. Emboss Happy Fall (B1420) with copper embossing powder and layer on Copper cardstock.  

3. Add Flower Soft glue over leaf images on the Brilliant Maple.  Sprinkle Autumn Flower Soft over glue.

4. Attach the Maple layer to a Chocolate layer and then onto card front.

5. Attach layered Happy Fall onto front of card, overlapping the bottom of the Maple layer.

6. Add jewels as desired.

7. Punch Maple leaves on a strip of Chocolate cardstock and attach to inside of card.

I have really enjoyed looking at all the creative ways these talented folks have used the newest Memory Box stamps from the Winter Wonder Collection.  Hope you enjoyed the Blog Blitz as much as I did!!

Cedar Sprig

Happy glorious Sunday morning everyone!   This is the last day of our blog blitz, but never fear, the Memory Box Design Team shares wonderful designs almost every day!   We hope you continue to visit and comment on our blog.

Today, I'm featuring the Cedar Sprig (D1415).  I really love the versatility of this stamp.  Obviously, it makes a great background stamp, but is equally beautiful being the main feature.  Here, I combined it with a layered poinsettia constructed from the Believe Poinsettia Collage (G1421).

 
This card is really super simple and fun to make.

Instructions:

1. Cut 5 -  7/8" X 3 3/8" strips from Poinsettia Fields paper and layer on to 1 X 3 1/2" strips of Vanilla Bean card stock.
2. Before adhering them to the Kraft card, line them up so they are evenly spaced.  Start by adhering the middle piece first then adhere the remaining strips.
3. The sentiment is typed on a 2 X 3 piece of Eggshell card stock using Brock Script font and then layered onto 2 1/8 X 3 1/8 piece of Vanilla Bean card stock and then popped up on the front of the card.
4. Now here's the best part :).  Stamp the Cedar Sprig (D1415) three times on eggshell card stock using ColorBox Deep Green Chalk Ink.  Cut out each sprig leaving just a bit of white showing.
5. Distress the edge of each sprig using ColorBox  Chestnut Roan and a finger dauber.
6. Ink up just the poinsettia from the Believe Poinsettia Collage (G1421) with ColorBox Dark Brown chalk ink and stamp on Cranberry Sicily card stock three times.  (Have you seen this new paper from Memorybox!  Love it!)
7. Cut out the first poinsettia as is and ink up the edges with Chestnut Roan chalk ink.
8. Cut out the second poinsettia and then cut in between the leaves following the leaf line.   Crease the petals where the middle vein is and curl the petals a bit for added dimension.  Ink up edges with Chestnut Roan chalk ink. 
9. Layer this second poinsettia on top of the first using foam tape or pop up dots.
10. Cut out just the middle petals from the third poinsettia and chalk up edges with Chestnut Roan chalk ink.  Layer this on top with foam tape in between.
11. The final touch is to add 3-5 lovely Canary Jewels to the center of the poinsettia.
12. Arrange the Cedar Sprigs behind the poinsettia and adhere to the back of the poinsettia.
13.  Finally attach this beautiful arrangement to the front of your card.

I hope you enjoyed this morning's blog post.  Be sure to come back this afternoon to see what lovely creation Maureen has to share with us!

You've got Mail!

  This little penguin looks so happy to be delivering the good news: "You've Got Mail".  Don't we all love to receive mail?--not bills but real letters.  Who does that anymore?  Well, at Christmas time family and friends often send out "newsy" letters to update the relatives on their lives--not an easy task!  So here is a little card to send out with your family newsletter.

    

   He's peeking through the new Small Bramble Wreath (C1418) from the Winter Wonder collection and seems to be saying...

                          De-liver 

                          De letter

                          De sooner

                          De better!

Just stamp the Message Penguin (C841), cut out, color with Prisma pencils and tuck him into a small slit cut along the lower portion of the wreath.  I elevated the envelope to emphasize the "You've Got Mail" theme and to add dimension.  

I also stamped the Renaissance Tile (G1404) with Versamagic Oasis Green in the background which complements the Thistle notecard and patterned paper from the Tinsel collection.  Love these new Winter Wonder designs!

I hope you start composing your Holiday Newsletter and make this card to send with it.

 Thanks for joining us for the Blog Blitz this week-- tomorrow is our blitz finale! It has been a lot of fun and I hope you have been inspired by our creations featuring the latest stamps and papers.  Leave comments on each of the posts --  two random comments from the week will be chosen to win a $50 Memory Box prize pack.  The more comments, the better your chance of winning!  There are also prizes for joining the Memory Box Flickr group and for following Memory Box on Facebook. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!