Looking Forward to the Cool Fall Air....

 Of course, we are going to have to extinguish all those fires here in California before the fall air is clear but since two weeks ago it was 106 degrees, cool but smoky air would be okay with me!

When I looked at the Among the Branches stamp set and looked at the Autumn Wishes & Tasty Dishes stamp, I thought "ok, that will work at the Thanksgiving dinner table but not so much for cards".  Hah!  Just hide it.  A couple rounds of gold cord and an Into the Woods Element acorn will do just nicely to hide the words "& tasty dishes".

See last Friday's blog entry (Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds) for a tip on getting a good stamped image for the Autumn Wishes stamp.  Also, you can use a blender pen and the ink pad to gently add color to places that you don't get a good stamping.

I used the new Fine Tip Glue Pen to run along the seam of the Mossy Meadow and Into the Woods Designer Series Paper to glue down the gold cord.  You will need to hold it in place for a minute to allow the glue to set.

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Product List

Happy Scenes Photopolymer Stamp Set [139821]	Among The Branches Photopolymer Stamp Set [139823]	Tangelo Twist 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [133677]	Early Espresso 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [119686]
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730]	Daffodil Delight 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [119683]	Into The Woods Designer Series Paper [139586]	Mossy Meadow 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [133676]
Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad [126978]	Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad [133645]	Tangelo Twist Classic Stampin' Pad [133646]	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad [126953]
2" Circle Punch [133782]	Season Of Cheer Designer Washi Tape [139611]	Gold Cording Trim [139618]	Into The Woods Elements [139636]
Fine-Tip Glue Pen [138309]	Aqua Painters [103954]

Quick Tip: What to Do with Stampin' Up! Cases...Besides Store Stamps!

Here is a quick video which shows you some things you can do with Stampin' Up!'s plastic cases besides just storing your stamps.  I hope you enjoy and I will be looking for your online order with a bunch of these on there, right?

UPDATED:  I recently had a request for the sleeve that I used for the pearls and rhinestones so I thought I would provide them here. 

• Click here to get the Clear Mount Case Sleeve.  
• Click here for the Full Size Wood Mount Case Sleeve.  
• Click here for the Half Size Wood Mount Case Sleeve.

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" Revisited...

Halloween is supposed to be scary, right?  Well, when I think scary I think of Alfred Hitchcock's movie "The Birds".  I was a young child when I watched it with a friend and it has always stuck with me.  It also helps that I spend a lot of time in Bodega Bay and the little town of Bodega where the movie was filmed. That church on the hill, I drive by it all the time and I always think of all of those birds.  So one blackbird in a tree isn't really scary but five of them?  Now you are getting closer....

To make the foggy look to the Spooky circle, just stamp in Blackberry Bliss and then take your Blender Pen and work back and forth gently until you remove some of the color in those areas.

Tip:  If you are not getting a good stamped image with a photopolymer solid stamp like this, make sure your stamp is clean and ink it up with VersaMark ink.  Then without cleaning, ink it up with your chosen color of ink.  The VersaMark ink attracts the other ink giving you a much better amount of ink onto your stamp.  Make sure that you have a pad of some sort below your grid paper and press gently over the entire image.  With photopolymer stamps, you always want to have a soft pad (think Stampin' Up!'s Piercing Mat or a piece of fun foam).  Wood and clear mount stamps have the foam built in but photopolymer doesn't have any foam and you want that "give".

Here is the inside of the card.  You cannot really tell the color but the "BOO" is cut out of Blackberry Bliss cardstock.

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Product List

Among The Branches Photopolymer Bundle [140872]	Blackberry Bliss 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [133675]	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730]	Into The Woods Designer Series Paper [139586]
Black Glimmer Paper [139605]	Jet Black Stazon Ink Pad [101406]	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad [133642]	Little Letters Thinlits Die [133730]
Circles Collection Framelits Die [130911]	2" Circle Punch [133782]	Everyday Chic Designer Washi Tape [138385]	Spider Web Doilies [139622]
Blender Pens [102845]

Stampin' Up!'s Holiday Catalog - Wonderland...

 

Have you got your catalog?  Is this one of your favorite sets?  It is one of mine.  This card was inspired by a card made by Linda Higgins.  Of course, I changed it up a bit because that's just me!  For this card, you need to break out your purples - yes, all of them!  We used Wisteria Wonder at the tops of the trees, Perfect Plum just below that, Elegant Eggplant below there and finally Blackberry Bliss at the bottom!  I just love the effect that the colors give it.  Of course, if you are in California right now, this card in yellows, oranges and reds of forest fires would work!  Keep your rain dances going - we need it here!

Here is the inside of the card.  Make sure to use the new Basic Black Archival ink or Memento ink for the trees and not StazOn because StazOn doesn't work as well for the stamping off effect.

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Product List

Wonderland Clear-Mount Stamp Set [140365]	Reason For The Season Photopolymer Stamp Set [139730]	Elegant Eggplant 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [105126]	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730]
Gold Foil Sheets [132622]	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad [140931]	Wisteria Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad [126985]	Perfect Plum Classic Stampin' Pad [126963]
Elegant Eggplant Classic Stampin' Pad [126969]	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad [133642]	Woodland Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [139673]	Banner Punch [133519]
Gold 5/8" Satin Ribbon [134547]	Winter Wonderland Embellishments [139621]	Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments [119246]	Stamping Sponges [101610]